Security pact between Iraq and the US signed; Protests against pact
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    • Iraq and the US signed a long-awaited security pact requiring Washington to withdraw its forces by the end of 2011. The pact, which must still be passed by the Iraqi parliament, was signed by Iraq’s Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari and US ambassador Ryan Crocker at a ceremony ending months of negotiations on the future of the US presence. In Washington, Adm. Mike Mullen stated that the US still prefered a withdrawal based on security conditions rather than timetables. The pact commits Washington to withdraw its forces numbering 150,000 troops by December 31, 2011. Reports noted that the decision to include a withdrawal date was taken by the US to make the accord politically palatable in Iraq. The deal also provides a system for Iraqi courts to try US soldiers for serious crimes committed while off duty, but only under very tight conditions1.

    Iran has registered its opposition to the deal. Thousands of supporters of the radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr also took to the streets in Baghdad to protest against its provisions2.

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