4 committees to be formed to implement deal’s clauses – U.S. embassy

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The spokesperson for the U.S. embassy in Iraq said on Friday that the U.S. and Iraq will form four committees to implement the U.S. troop withdrawal agreement’s clauses after the presidential council ratifies it. “The U.S. embassy is waiting for the ratification of the agreement by the presidential council to come into force as of January 1, 2009,” she told IraqiNews.com. Regarding the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraqi cities in June 2009, she said “the pact’s clauses are clear and U.S. forces will hand over the security responsibility to Iraqi forces according to the timetable and will withdraw all forces by the end of 2011.” Only 198 MPs attended the important session of the 275-member assembly Thursday. 149 members voted in favor of the pact, while lawmakers from the Sadrist bloc voted against it. A failure to approve the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) would have put the Iraqi government in a dilemma, as they were to approach the UN Security Council to extend the deployment of U.S. forces after the current mandate ends this year. The SOFA bill will become law once the Iraqi Presidential Council ratifies it. SH (S) 1