Iraq to ask for canceling Chapter VII, Decree 17 after deal signing – Dabbagh

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraq will ask the UN Security Council to cancel Chapter VII, which governs the presence of Multi-National Force (MNF) troops in Iraq, and Decree 17 of former U.S. civil administrator Paul Bremer as soon as the security pact is signed, a spokesman for the Iraqi government said on Sunday. “As far as the protection of Iraq’s funds is concerned, there is a clear item that provides for continued U.S. protection of Iraq’s proceeds from oil exports and having them deposited in a development fund,” Ali al-Dabbagh said in a press conference today. Iraq is still under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, imposed on it after Iraqi troops invaded neighboring Kuwait in 1991. According to the Chapter, large sums of Iraq’s accounts in world banks were frozen with the aim of paying damages for persons harmed by the invasion of Kuwait. Bremer’s Decree 17, issued on June 17, 2003, determines the legal framework for the U.S. forces and as well as their foreign missions, staff and contractors. Earlier on Sunday, Dabbagh said that the Iraqi cabinet approved the status-of-forces agreement (SOFA) with a majority of 27 votes to one. “The agreement will be referred to the Iraqi parliament today for voting,” Ali al-Dabbagh said in a press conference today. 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