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US legal immunity in Iraq 'requirement': military

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US legal immunity in Iraq 'requirement': military

Unread postby Stillw8n » Thu Oct 13, 2011 10:23 am

US legal immunity in Iraq 'requirement': military
Legal immunity is a must for any American troops serving in Iraq as part of a training mission past year-end, the US military's spokesman in the country said on Thursday.

Major General Jeffrey Buchanan's remarks come amid an apparent impasse between Baghdad and Washington over the issue, with Iraqi political leaders saying this month that while they backed a US training mission post-2011, there was "no need" for such protection.

"Any troops that we have serve here would need to have the legal protections that they have now under the security agreement, or similar to the legal protections they have in any country they serve in around the world," Buchanan told AFP in an interview.

"We've been very up front about this requirement from our perspective."

He added: "I don't know of any country where our troops serve in where they don't either have diplomatic immunity ... or in a more traditional sense legal protections under some sort of bilateral agreement."

Cabinet secretary general Ali al-Alaak said on Monday that Iraq was considering multiple options regarding the future of US troops, ranging from a limited mission to no military trainers whatsoever.

Iraqi political leaders said in a joint statement earlier this month that they agreed on the need for training of Iraqi forces and the purchase of military equipment, but "there is no need to give immunity for trainers."

The statement made no mention of how many trainers would be required, for how long or for what specific needs.

"Our soldiers don't have immunity typically," Buchanan said, insisting instead that what the US seeks is "legal protection."

However, under the terms of the 2008 security agreement between the US and Iraq, there is little chance of US soldiers being prosecuted.

Article 12 of the agreement says that "Iraq shall have the primary right to exercise jurisdiction" over US forces, but only in cases of "grave premeditated felonies" and only when "such crimes are committed outside agreed facilities and areas and outside duty status."

About 41,000 US troops remain in Iraq, and all of who must withdraw by the end of the year under a bilateral security accord, which remains in force if no post-2011 deal is agreed.

Buchanan said the US now has 22 bases in Iraq, compared to a peak of 505 in 2008.

It has hundreds of convoys on the road every week to complete the withdrawal, he said, noting that last week alone, 399 convoys with 13,909 trucks had been used for the pullout.


http://news.yahoo.com/us-legal-immunity ... 32920.html
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