Friday, November 21, 2008

Iraq - The SOF Agreement

SOF stand for the Status Of Forces. It is the agreement between the US and the Iraqis about how US forces in Iraq will conduct themselves once the UN mandate covering US troops expires. Iraq the Model has some interesting news not found elsewhere.

After the Iraqi cabinet voted in approval, Iraq’s Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker met in Baghdad to sign the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA).

Both diplomats hailed the event as a “historic” one — not an overstatement as their meeting was the fruit of many months of deliberations and negotiations.
Reportedly, SOFA has a sister document whose details are yet to be made public. Radio Sawa reported that Zebari and Crocker signed “another long-term strategic agreement, which the U.S. ambassador said would shape relations between the two countries in all areas for years to come.” It’s actually surprising that there’s no mention of this second document anywhere in the media.
Now isn't that interesting. There is a Times Online article about the SOF agreement that says noting about the second document. I wonder why?

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