Preparations complete to take over from U.S. troops- lawmaker

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi forces are prepared to take control of security after the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraqi cities, the rapporteur of the parliamentary Security and Defense Committee said on Monday. “Preparations for the U.S. troop pullout from cities by the end of June in accordance with the security agreement are good,” MP Firyad Rawunduzi told IraqiNews.com news agency. The parliamentarian highlighted what he described as “the high level of coordination” between the Iraqi ministries of defense, interior and national security on the one hand, and the and U.S. forces on the other on how to fill the security vacuum after the withdrawal of foreign troops. On December 13, 2008, the Iraqi government signed a long-term agreement with the United States, known as the Status-of-Forces Agreement (SOFA) to regulate the presence and withdrawal of foreign troops after 2008. Under the agreement, a complete troop withdrawal from Iraq is supposed to take place by the end of 2011. SS (P) 1