Presidential Board discusses security agreement

Iraq-Council BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Presidential Board on Tuesday discussed the security agreement between Iraq and the U.S. and the articles Iraq demanded be amended, a presidential statement said. “The presidential council held today a meeting under President Jalal Talabani and his two deputies Tareq al-Hashemi and Adel Abdul Mahdi, during which they discussed the security agreement and the articles Iraq demanded to amend them,” said the statement received by IraqiNews.com. 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. 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. “The meeting also tackled a number of pending issues, including coordinating the work with the cabinet in sensitive issues,” the statement highlighted. SH (S)/SR 1