So far, both the Iraqi and United States governments have been in long and intense talks on reaching a security agreement that would up to two years. One stipulation is that either Iraq or the United States can end this agreement at any given time provided there is a six-month advanced notice.
Negotiations on this agreement have been behind close doors. Safe to say, the talks have been intense on both sides. The details were given out by Iraqi Oil Minister, Hussain al-Shahristani.
Recently, the Iraqi government has given another stipulation to the security agreement. It wants the right to veto any US military operation taking place in the country.
However, the security agreement is not well received by the US Congress. Many in the US Congress and Iraqi government feel that the administration of current United States President George W. Bush is trying to tie the next US President to Iraq.
A new US President will be elected this November. It is a contest between presumed Democratic nominee Senator Barack Obama of Illinois and presumed GOP nominee Senator John McCain of Arizona.
So far, Iraq has remained the main platform of McCain’s candidacy. At the same time, Iraq has remained to play the second fiddle to the US economy in recent consistent poll ratings.
So far, Shahristani had laid down the guidelines for the agreement. He would say:
“Neither the constitution nor our people will allow any violation of our sovereignty. Obviously foreign troops on Iraqi soil carrying out operations without the prior consent and approval of the elected government is a violation.
“Any arrests, any operations internally or externally against our neighbours without prior agreement of the Iraqi government will be considered a violation … Land and sea movements and air space is all part of Iraq’s sovereignty.”
These are the stipulations that the Iraqi government wants to add to this two-year security agreement.
But there are still nationalist suspicious in regards to this agreement. US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said that the US government has no desire for permanent bases in the country. Shahristani adds that this agreement will only be brief.
However, there is still the security situation in Iraq.
Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz had said that the cost of Iraq costs at least $12 billion per month. He said the overall cost could be at least $3 trillion.
Several months back, the Pentagon said that the security situation was the main problem hurting the country’s reconstruction. Government corruption was cited as the reason for the government corruption.
Just recently, a car bomb had gone off in Baghdad killing at least 51 people and injuring over 70.
The agreement itself known as “SOFA” has been under scrutiny. This is because none of the drafts have been published. Only a few of the MPs have taken a look to it.