Entire U.S.-Iraq Military Agreement Published

The proposed U.S.-Iraq militray agreement has been much written about, much speculated about, but rarely read in its entirety until now. First published in Arabic by the Baghdad newspaper, Al-Sabah Al-Jadeed on October 21, the full agreement has now been translated into English by American Friends Organization and published on their web site.

If ratified, the agreement would authorize the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq beyond the December 31, 2008 deadline established by the United Nations, and pave the way for the establishment of permanent U.S. bases in that nation.

Presence of U.S. Forces:
"The U.S. forces shall submit to the Iraqi government, as soon as this agreement goes into effect, a list that includes all installations and areas used by the U.S. forces as of that date, for the purpose of being reviewed and agreed upon by both sides no later than June 30 th 2009. The installations and areas agreed upon also include those areas and installations that might be offered to the U.S. forces during the period of this agreement and for the exclusive tasks of this agreement, in accordance to what the two sides agree upon," states the translated agreement, which defines "U.S. forces" as "members of the armed forces, civilian members, and all the equipments and materials owned by the U.S. forces in Iraq."

The agreement also gives the U.S. jurisdiction over American military and civilian personnel accused of crimes committed while on U.S. bases or on active duty in Iraq.

Timeline for Withdrawal:
The agreement calls for the withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Iraq by December 31, 2011, and that U.S forces be withdrawn from all Iraqi “cities, towns, and villages as soon as the Iraqi forces take over...no later than June 30th, 2009.”

The agreement does, however, allow for the extension of any and all withdrawal deadlines, if agreed upon by both countries.

Also See:
S. J. Res 45 Authorizing Use of Armed Forces Against Iraq (2002)
Updated Costs of the Iraq War