Time: US and Iraq may be working on a 10 year security agreement

[sabra]

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1667224,00.html

America in Iraq: The 10-Year Plan

The comments by Iraq's deputy foreign minister hardly caused a stir when they appeared Saturday in Asharq al Awsat, an Arabic newspaper published across the Middle East. But they are a strong indication of the depth of the Bush administration's military commitment to the region. "Iraq needs a new resolution to determine the shape of the relationship between the two countries and how to cooperate with the U.S. forces," Labid Abawi was quoted as saying. "We will ask the Council to include an article that allows Iraq to enter into negotiations with the United States to reach long-term security agreements to meet Iraq's security needs bilaterally."

It all seemed to be standard diplo-speak, designed to set up a provision calling for lower numbers of U.S. forces. But a close parsing of the statement shows that Abawi and the government of Iraq are seeking to replace the existing United Nations sponsored pact permitting U.S.-led forces in Iraq, establishing in its place a long-term, bilateral security agreement directly between Iraq and the United States. And while the proposed details have yet to emerge, similar U.S. agreements with other nations in the region — including Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar — have all involved a 10-year "protection" period, at minimum.

The exact parameters of the deals for each country are classified. But generally the agreements function like 10-year protection contracts saying that the United States will guarantee the security of a signatory country. In return, the United States is allowed to base troops, dock ships and store military hardware in those countries in furtherance of its efforts to project force in the Middle East.

[TwilightGardener]

1. AKA the Oil-Israel-Iran Plan.