U.S. army hopes SOFA signed

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The media adviser of the U.S. army in Baghdad on Wednesday expressed hope that the political blocs could reach an agreement on the troop withdrawal deal. “The U.S. army administration is optimistic regarding reaching an agreement among political blocs to approve the security deal with Washington,” al-Muqdad Jabreel told IraqiNews.com. The spokesman for the U.S. embassy refused to comment on the issue. Parliament will hold a session today to vote on the agreement after completing the first and second readings, as well as other discussions over it. The Iraqi cabinet last week had approved with an overwhelming majority of 27 votes to one the security pact between Iraq and the United States, also known as the status of forces agreement (SOFA), and was referred to Parliament for voting. SOFA will replace a United Nations mandate governing the U.S. presence in Iraq, due to expire on Dec. 31, and has been agreed on by the Bush administration. Under the proposed agreement, U.S. troops will exit Iraqi towns and cities by the middle of 2009, and the entire country by the end of 2011. The law also curbs U.S. powers to detain Iraqi citizens and conduct military operations. SOFA had drawn wide-scale local popular and political controversy after the cabinet endorsed it on last week, particularly from the Sadrist bloc of Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr. In accordance with the Iraqi constitution, SOFA cannot be effective before the parliament approves it. SH (S) 1