There aren't many things that a confidant of Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, a council of Iraqi Sunni religious leaders and the followers of firebrand Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr can all agree on, but they seem to have found common ground on one thing: they all oppose...
The Bush Administration and Iraqi negotiators may have completed a final draft of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), but its prospects for approval in the Iraqi parliament seem to grow more questionable by the minute. Aides of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki...
US and Iraqi officials say that the final draft of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) has been completed, and has been submitted to Iraq's political leadership for a long, arduous approval process. While the overall terms of the agreement were not publicly...
Last week, Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte described the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with Iraq as "close" and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said he was confident that the deal would be reached, citing 'good concessions' made by the US on certain key...
With violence in Iraq on the decline, many in the administration have been quick to take credit for the "success" in Iraq, claiming that the military surge was responsible for making Iraq a safer place to live. But amid all the self-congratulatory pats on the back,...
An an interview US commander in Iraq General Ray Odierno has accused Iran of "coming in to pay off people to vote against" the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) and using Saddam-era contact "to attempt to influence the outcome of the potential vote." The accusation...
Armed members of Christian militias stand guard in front of churches in the restless Mosul district as attacks have driven thousands of Christians from their homes in recent days. The governor of Nineveh Province has blamed "al-Qaeda elements" for the campaign, and...
Though Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said last night that the United States had made 'good concessions' on the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says that there are still some points of contention yet to be worked out. Primary among...
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani told Iraq's state-run television station al-Iraqia today that the United States has made 'good concessions' regarding the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). He also said that he was confident the agreement would be reached, as it is...
Though Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte claimed that the Status of Forces Agreement with the Iraqi government is "close," the question of troop immunity remains a point of serious contention between the two sides. Serious enough that until the issue is...
