Iraqi FM: Country has little choice but to sign security agreement with US

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Iraq's foreign minister says the country has little choice but to sign a new security agreement with the US that would let American troops stay in the country after a UN mandate expires at year-end. Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari recently returned to Iraq after meeting with US President George W. Bush in Washington to discuss the agreement, which has been criticized by many Iraqi officials worried it would leave too much power in US hands. But Zebari told parliament Tuesday that the only other options were to extend the UN mandate or continue without a formal agreement, neither of which holds much appeal to Iraqis. He said an agreement would last one or two years and urged Iraqi officials to finalize it by the end of July.