LOC11:30
08:30 GMT
BAGHDAD, Aug 3 (KUNA) -- Iraqi political blocs gave the green light late
Tuesday to the Iraqi government to sign a new agreement with the United States
to Keep some of its troops, for military training purposes, beyond their
departure date at the end of 2011.
This decision came as an outcome of a meeting held, late Tuesday, by Iraqi
lawmakers and the Iraqi government to discuss the US troop's presence in the
country.
In a press release after the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Roj Noori
Shawis said that "all the political leaders have agreed to allow the Iraqi
government to hold talks with the United States to sign a new agreement to
keep some of its troops in the country as military trainers to the Iraqi
security forces under the Strategic Framework."
This Strategic Framework was signed between Baghdad and Washington with the
Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) late in 2008.
Shawis noted, in his five-hour press release, that the Iraqi political
leaders have agreed to form a parliamentary committee to fix any imbalances in
the military and civil bodies in the country within two months.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki had met with the visiting US
Joint Chief of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen and they discussed having a final
decision on whether the US troops should extend their stay or not in the
country.(end)
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KUNA 031130 Aug 11NNNN