Gates says U.S. Reluctant to Alter Iraq Troop Deal

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Gates says U.S. Reluctant to Alter Iraq Troop Deal

Neil Richard Leslie | October 22, 2008

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says Washington is reluctant to alter the troop deal with Iraq even after the current draft failed to win support in the Iraqi parliament. According to Reuters Iraq has called for a review of the status of forces agreement (SOFA) draft that would require U.S. forces to leave Iraq by the end of 2011. But Gates told reporters at the Pentagon that the door to change was "pretty far closed" and warned that failure to reach a SOFA deal or renew the UN mandate for U.S. troops to remain in the country would mean suspension of U.S. operations.

The draft would require U.S. troops to leave Iraq after 2011 unless Baghdad asks them to stay and allow Iraqi courts try U.S. military service members accused of serious crimes while off duty. It would mean that foreign troops, which now operate under a U.N. Security Council mandate, would function for the first time under the authority of the elected government in Baghdad. Both sides call it a milestone for Iraqi sovereignty.