Iraqi govt. gives thumbs up to SOFA – spokesman

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Iraqi cabinet on Sunday approved the status-of-forces agreement (SOFA) with a majority of 27 votes to one, an Iraqi government spokesman said. “The agreement will be referred to the Iraqi parliament today for voting,” Ali al-Dabbagh said in a press conference held today. Earlier, a cabinet source said the Iraqi cabinet unanimously approved a controversial long-term security pact. “The cabinet approved the pact in an extraordinary several hours’ session held today and referred to parliament,” the source said in statements to IraqiNews.com, adding a press conference will be held to announce approval to sign the agreement. The Iraqi and U.S. sides have been negotiating a long-term security deal, known as 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 (S) 1