Iraqis Put Off a Troop Accord With U.S.

Iraqi leaders have shelved talks about signing a formal agreement to allow more than 100,000 U.S. soldiers to remain in Iraq after the planned restoration of Iraqi sovereignty at the end of June.

Under a proposal agreed to in November, members of the U.S.-appointed Governing Council were supposed to complete a “status-of-forces agreement” with the U.S. military by the end of next month.

But council members have decided to put off negotiations until at least summer, after a transitional assembly has been installed and the U.S. has returned sovereignty to Iraqis.

In large part, the status-of-forces agreement would be a formality; U.S. and Iraqi leaders say the presence of American forces can be justified past June 30 under an existing U.N. resolution that allows for a multinational force in Iraq. The two sides also agree that Iraqi security forces are not yet prepared to maintain peace and stability without help from the U.S. or other international forces.

Still, the delay is another example of how the Nov. 15 plan under which the U.S. and the council agreed to end the U.S.-led civil occupation is unraveling. The plan also foresaw using caucuses to select the transitional assembly -- an idea that is now seriously in doubt.

“When we started to look at the [status-of-forces] issue, it became clear that whatever we negotiate now would have to be ratified by the next transitional council,” said Governing Council member Samir Shakir Mahmoud, who is leading a committee in charge of reaching an agreement. “We said, ‘Wait a minute. Why do this twice?’ ”

Mahmoud noted that the council has been distracted in recent weeks by debate over when to hold elections and what protections should be included in a draft bill of rights being written. “It’s one less thing to do,” he said.

Coalition officials could not be reached for comment. But Mahmoud said L. Paul Bremer III, the U.S. civilian administrator of Iraq, approved of the delay. In recent weeks, other U.S. officials have warned that the deadline on the status-of-forces agreement might slip.

“The U.N. resolution actually, I think, covers a portion of this, and our circumstance at the present time works for us,” Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said this month.

Although a status-of-forces agreement may largely be a formality, such a document is crucial to spelling out the rights and protections accorded U.S. soldiers. Among other things, the agreement is expected to define the circumstances under which U.S. soldiers may use force and whether they are subject to Iraqi law in cases of property damage or accidental death of civilians.

Meanwhile, the council is to resume talks today about the latest draft of a transitional law that would govern the nation until a new constitution is written. The formal deadline for the transitional law is Feb. 28, but that may not be met, particularly since there is still no agreement over how to select a transitional assembly.

Council members said they have made progress on the law, but must still work out some key issues.

Kurds, for example, are pushing for greater autonomy, including the right to control the armed forces, taxation systems and natural resources -- including oil -- in their northern zone.

“We want the right to make Kurdish laws in our own region,” said Mahmoud Othman, an independent Kurdish council member. “We have seen centralization in Iraq before, and it always leads to dictatorship.”