US-Iraq Agreement Leaked

Timetable for (Partial) Withdrawal

Over the past couple of months, Maliki has firmly advocated a quick, total withdrawal of US troops. Many in Iraq believe that his strong language is intended to sell the SOFA to parliament. However, if parliament is not consulted on the deal, it will likely contain very weak withdrawal guidelines, as outlined in the leaked draft.

The draft states that a deadline will be set to pull out “combat troops,” though the exact date had not been filled in at the time of its release. No timeline is provided for the departure of noncombat troops. Those soldiers would be permitted to linger indefinitely on “installations and areas agreed upon” – the agreement’s lingo for “military bases.”

The “noncombat” designation is notably vague, according to Leaver.

“It doesn’t define what role noncombatant troops would have, nor does it define the potential numbers left behind,” Leaver said, adding that the agreement doesn’t specify what role remaining military contractors would play in a “post-withdrawal” Iraq.

Although its definitions might be murky, the way the agreement’s “withdrawal” plan will be received in Iraq is fairly clear, according to Ali.
“In a word, this arrangement is a new face for the occupation,” Ali said.

Troop Immunity

The SOFA draft grants US troops full immunity from Iraqi law, stating, “The U.S. has exclusive legal jurisdiction over U.S. armed forces members and civilian members inside and outside installations and areas agreed upon.”

Following that clause is a “suggestion” from the Iraqi negotiators, which proposes that US personnel be given immunity “except for intentional crimes and major mistakes.”

“Intentional crimes and major mistakes” are not defined, and according to Jarrar, the “Iraqi suggestions” sprinkled throughout the draft do not hold much water.

“All the Iraqi suggestions show that the Iraqi team doesn’t have much leeway,” Jarrar said.

The generous immunity clause is not standard for SOFAs, according to Joseph Gerson, author of “The Sun Never Sets: Confronting the Network of Foreign Military Bases.” In fact, in countries with more leverage, like Japan and western European nations, US soldiers who commit crimes may well be subject to native law. By seeking blanket immunity for troops in “post-withdrawal” Iraq, the Bush administration is following a treacherous historical pattern.

“Such indemnification is often sought by the Pentagon when new bases are established, and it is as close to a raw practice of imperialism as one can imagine,” Gerson told Truthout.

Leaver notes that the wide-open immunity clause coincides with a high prevalence of US-inflicted civilian casualties in Iraq, leaving victims of those crimes with no recourse.

According to Ali, that’s an untenable loophole.

“The US troops should be tried by Iraqi law,” Ali said. “Every day, they kill people by mistake. Let’s imagine that whole case in the United States, what the result would be – can you?” Truthout/ (Bulatlat.com)

Share This Post