MP says U.S. official’s statement disavowal of SOFA

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: An Iraqi independent parliamentarian on Sunday described statements by U.S. Army Chief of Staff General George Casey about the possibility of a prolonged presence of U.S. troops in Iraq as an attempt to disavow the security agreement between the two countries. “Casey’s statements have revealed the true intentions of the Americans to stay in Iraq,” MP Izz al-Din al-Dawla said in response to a report published by the Telegraph a few days ago. “The Pentagon is prepared to remain in Iraq for as long as a decade despite an agreement between Washington and Baghdad that would bring all American troops home by 2012,” the newspaper quoted Casey as saying. On December 13, 2008, the Iraqi government signed a long-term pact 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 will take place by the end of 2011. SS (P) 1