Parliament Speaker, US Ambassador, discuss fate of U.S. forces in Iraq

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraq’s Parliament Speaker, Usama al-Nujeify, has discussed with the U.S. Ambassador to Baghdad, James Jeffery, and the Commander of the U.S. Forces in Iraq, General L. Austin, the fate of the American forces in Iraq, according to a statement by Nujeify’s office on Tuesday.   “The Parliament’s Speaker has received at his office on Tuesday the American Ambassador to Baghdad, James Jeffery and the Commander of the U.S. Forces in Iraq, General L. Austin, with both sides discussing the political situation in Iraq and means for strengthening it,” the statement, copy of which was received by IraqiNews.com news agency reported.   “Both sides have discussed the impacts of the Regional circumstances on the general conditions in Iraq, as well as the discussion of the fate of the American Forces in Iraq, along with means for boosting the bilateral relations between both countries,” the statement stressed.   The Strategic Agreement, signed between Baghdad and Washington in 2008, had confirmed that the American forces would withdraw from Iraq by the end of December this year.   SKH (TR)/SR 769