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Iraq agrees to seek final UN extension for troops
Follow-up.
BAGHDAD - Iraq’s cabinet agreed on Tuesday to seek a final one-year extension of the UN Security Council mandate covering U.S.-led foreign troops in the country, government spokesman Ali Al Dabbagh said. The UN mandate allows coalition forces to conduct a wide range of military operations in Iraq. The current one-year mandate expires at the end of 2007 and Iraqi officials have said they would only seek an extension for one more year. ‘The cabinet has just agreed on extending the UN mandate covering multi-national forces in Iraq. This will be the final extension,’ Dabbagh said.

When the UN mandate ends, bilateral agreements will govern U.S.-Iraqi relations, officials have said. The White House has said the two sides will start formal negotiations early next year about the future relationship of the two countries, including the size and role of American forces to remain in Iraq. The talks aim to conclude in July.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki has stressed the importance of ending the UN mandate for coalition forces in Iraq. ‘This is a goal pursued by all Iraqis who love their homeland and love it to be normal again without all the consequences it endured because of the policies and adventures of the previous (Saddam Hussein) regime,’ he said in a speech late last month.
Posted by: Steve White 2007-12-05
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=211446