Massive protests, organised by the bloc led by Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, were held in Iraq recently, in response to a deal which would allow US troops to remain on Iraqi soil until 2011. The UN mandate ends in December; without a new agreement, all foreign troops in Iraq would have to leave. Alia Allana lays out the background.

* What were the crowds protesting?

A deal between the Iraqi and US governments known as the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which defines the rights and obligations of foreign military operatives. The Pentagon’s official line on SOFA, which exasperated the Iraqis, is soldiers’ immunity from being tried in Iraq. In essence it protects “personnel who may be subjected to criminal trial.” 

* What does SOFA involve?

The Status of Forces Agreement is based on the presumption that the host country — Iraq — requests foreign presence. While accepting that the host country exercises complete control and authority over its territory and those resident within it, the Americans aim “to protect, to the maximum extent possible, the rights of United States personnel who may be subject to criminal trial by foreign courts and imprisonment in foreign prisons.”  

* What is the official Iraqi line on SOFA?

Talks on SOFA have been on since July and the official line has changed in response to powerful domestic factions. The initial stand from Nouri al-Maliki’s government called for the termination of “foreign presence on Iraqi lands and restoring full sovereignty.” Now, al-Maliki is looking for approval from his parliament, together with the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq; and calls SOFA an “historic deal.” Opposition leaders are attempting to block the deal from passing in Parliament.

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