Word: hammoud
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...crux of the deal - his insistence on a firm 2011 date for the withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Iraq, rather than Washington's preferred hazy "time horizon" - al-Maliki's position may not be as solid as it sounds. The 2011 date is "not a 100% time limit," Hammoud says. "It could be changed in the future according to the situation in Iraq," he says, adding that a joint U.S.-Iraqi committee will meet in 2011. "At that time, the government has the right to ask the Americans to ... either stay or leave." Looked at another way, that...
...Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Haj Hammoud - the lead negotiator on the SOFA talks until al-Maliki recently took over - is confident the Iraqis will get their way. Already, says Hammoud, the U.S. has conceded that private security contractors working with the U.S. military and embassy staff will no longer enjoy immunity. But even if the Americans hold firm on the final two sticking points (which is likely) al-Maliki can grudgingly approve the deal and still ultimately get his way. That's because the agreement must be ratified by the Iraqi parliament, which is unlikely to occur without...
...clever," Hammoud says of al-Maliki. "He is thinking in a realistic way: without the agreement of everybody, the deal is not acceptable...
...They don't like to see Iraq in a good friendship with the United States," says Hammoud, who met with the Iranian foreign minister last week to allay Tehran's fears over the security agreement. "They think that the territory of Iraq will be the base for attacking Iran...
...confidence exuded by al-Maliki, then, may simply be chest-puffing aimed at exaggerating the strength of his grip on power simply to keep hold of it. "The situation needs, for the time being, such an attitude," says Hammoud. "He is trying to balance the interest of his country and the pressure...