SOFA Agreement for Iraq Still Pending

A SOFA plays a key role in defining the relationship between a host country and the military of an external nation. There is a draft SOFA pending legislative approval by the Iraqi government that would extend the American presence beyond the expiration of the UN’s mandate at the conclusion of 2008. There are numerous provisions within the SOFA beyond simply defining America’s presence such as granting Iraq the ability to prosecute soldiers for crimes committed off the base. Without accepting the SOFA, American forces will be required to leave, a fact the Pentagon appeals to Iraqi legislators to consider in that their current defense still relies heavily upon the the United States. Quite aware of the situation, Iraqis are still seeking alternatives to the proposed draft SOFA. As written, if the SOFA were accepted, US forces would be withdrawn from major cities by July of 2009 and removed from Iraq entirely by 2011.