http://selvesandothers.org/ en SPIP - www.spip.net http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fd933c14-9c4e-11dc-bcd8-0000779fd2ac.html 2007-12-05T23:30:00Z text/html en Andrew Ward, Demetri Sevastopulo, Steve Negus <p>George W. Bush, US president, and Nouri al-Maliki, Iraqi prime minister, have signed a declaration that paves the way for a possible long-term US presence in Iraq in addition to the restoration of full Iraqi sovereignty.</p> <p>US and Iraqi officials said both countries would work towards extending the United Nations mandate that allows US and coalition troops to operate in Iraq for one more year. Washington and Baghdad have also agreed to work towards then replacing the mandate with a US-Iraqi security agreement.</p> <p>Hoshyar Zubari, the Iraqi foreign minister, told the FT that the next year would be the last in which US and allied troops in Iraq were covered by the UN mandate that has been in effect since 2003. He said that the status of forces in Iraq would afterwards be covered by a bilateral US-Iraqi agreement. (...)</p> - <a href="" rel="directory"></a>