By IRNA,
Baghdad : Senior Iraqi government official said on Sunday that the government expects the US Administration to give response to the Iraqi proposals to amend the security pact draft soon after the US presidential election, an aide to the prime minister said Sunday.
Prime Minister’s aide Yassin Majeed said the US response would come after Tuesday’s vote so the president-elect – either Barack Obama or John McCain – could be briefed on the Iraqi proposals, which were submitted by Iraq’s Cabinet last week.
Iraqi lawmakers say the changes are essential in order to win parliament’s ratification of the deal, which would keep American troops in the country until 2012 and give the Iraqis a greater role in the conduct of US military operations.
Parliament must ratify the agreement before the year-end expiration of the UN mandate for the US troops to remain in Iraq.
Without an agreement or a new UN mandate, the US military would have to suspend its mission, and the US military’s future in Iraq would be up to the man who takes office in January.
After the US air raids on Syria, the Iraqi government is asking for a ban on using their territory to attack neighboring countries, removal of language that might allow the US to stay here past 2011 and changes in a clause providing limited Iraqi jurisdiction over US troops.
The current draft provides for limited Iraqi jurisdiction for major crimes committed off post and off duty.
The Iraqis want a joint US-Iraqi committee to decide whether accused soldiers were off duty or on authorized missions.
Another aide to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said he met with US officials Saturday and was told that Washington was prepared to accept all those changes except the one involving jurisdiction.
The official said he urged the Americans to compromise on the jurisdiction request.
Meanwhile, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said there was “no Iraqi consensus” in support of the agreement, but he expected one to emerge in the coming weeks.
“If the American side agrees to our amendments to the pact, it will be a good pact and we can be proud of it,” he said on Iraq TV on Sunday night.