President, VP say committees must be set up soon

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi President Jalal al-Talabani and his deputy Adel Abdelmahdi called to speed up the formation of committees assigned to tackle pending political issues. The call was made during their meeting in Baghdad on Friday evening, according to a presidential statement. The two “stressed the necessity of speeding up the formation of committees approved during meetings by active political parties throughout the past days,” according to the statement that was received by IraqiNews.com. Talabani and Abdelmahdi discussed the recent developments on the political scene and the security deal that is scheduled to take place with the United States. 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. A declaration of principles was signed between U.S. President George W. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in December 2007. The declaration was scheduled to be ratified on July 31, 2008 and to come into force as of January 1, 2009. 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. SS (S) 1