No Extension, No Renewal of US Security Agreement – Hashimi

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Vice-President Tariq Al-Hashimi declared today that the interests of both Iraq and USA are not to extend or renew the security agreement ending on 31 December,2011, a statement of his office said.   The statement, copy received by IraqiNews.com, pointed out that Hashimi met the US ambassador to Iraq James Jeffery and discussed bilateral relations between the two countries.   During the meeting, Hashimi said that “the interests of both countries are not to extend or renew the security agreement”, pointing out that “any request for definitive military services should be made by the specialized authority (the general command of the armed forces) and the national conciliation, which cannot be achieved without implementing the nine points of Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani’s initiative”, the statement added.   On the other hand , the statement added that the US ambassador confirmed that his country will withdraw all its forces, if Iraq wants, or leaving non-combat units for training and other logistic services.     RM (TS)/SR 1250