Bush, Kurdistan president take up security deal

ARBIL / IraqiNews.com: President of Iraq’s Kurdistan region Massoud al-Barzani and U.S. President George W. Bush discussed the long-term security agreement that is scheduled to take place between Iraq and the United States. Barzani and Bush met at the White House and discussed the security agreement, according to a statement published on Wednesday on the official web site of the Kurdistan Regional Government Kurdistan RegionG). The U.S. president expressed his appreciation of Barzani’s efforts to support the political process in Iraq, the statement noted. The U.S. and Iraqi governments are currently negotiating a security pact that would regulate the presence of foreign troops in the country after 2008. A declaration of principles was signed between U.S. President George W. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in December 2007. The declaration was scheduled to be ratified on July 31, 2008 and to come into force as of January 1, 2009. The agreement governs the presence of U.S. forces in the country after 2008 and will not come into force without the approval of the Iraqi Parliament, which has 275 members from five blocs, in addition to the Sadrist movement and al-Fadhila party. The U.S. troops’ presence currently relies on a mandate by the United Nations and is annually renewed at the request of the Iraqi government. SS (S) 1