Cabinet mulls over security pact

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Iraqi cabinet met to discuss the proposed Iraqi-U.S. security pact, a cabinet source said on Sunday. “The outcome of the discussions will be announced after the meeting,” the source told IraqiNews.com, not giving more details. The Iraqi and U.S. sides have been negotiating a long-term security deal, known as the status-of-forces agreement (SOFA), during the past months. The pact should determine the legal framework for the U.S. presence in Iraq after the end of this year, when the international mandate granted by the UN Security Council to the U.S. army to intervene in Iraq is due to expire. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, in a meeting on Saturday with Vice Presidents Adel Abdelmahdi and Tareq al-Hashemi, had discussed the security deal and the proposals offered by both sides over it. AmR (P) 1