Iraq Seeks Changes to Wording, Not Backbone of Pact

Reuters Oct 22, 2008
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Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari announced that the details of the Iraqi-U.S. agreement on troops will change. (Thaier al-Sudani/Getty Images)
BAGHDAD—Baghdad will demand changes to the wording of a pact allowing U.S. troops to stay in Iraq, but will not seek to renegotiate the "backbone" of the agreement, Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said on Wednesday.

"In my opinion and based on my followup for the negotiations, I do not think there will be structural amendments. Maybe it will touch the wording and descriptions, possibly, but the backbone of the pact is what has already been agreed on," Zebari told Reuters in an interview.

Iraq's cabinet decided on Tuesday to demand amendments to the pact, despite having agreed last week to a "final draft" after months of painstaking negotiations with Washington.

The Iraqi government has said it will draw up the proposed ammendments soon and then submit them to U.S. negotiators. Zebari said the Americans have agreed to hear the proposals, although he was unsure whether they would accecpt them.

"The absence of this pact will expose the country to dire consequences security-wise, economically and internationally," Zebari id. "The window of time is shutting slowly."