Word: iraq
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...Until this year, the Bush Administration had appeared to take for granted al-Maliki's acquiescence when push came to shove. The Iraqi Prime Minister had, for example, publicly opposed the surge of some 30,000 additional U.S. troops deployed in Iraq last year, but when they came anyway, al-Maliki's government muffled its dissent. That left many in the region and beyond questioning the extent of sovereign control exercised by the Iraqi government...
...offensives are producing a spiraling death count among international forces - 183 of whom have been killed thus far this year, compared to 232 fatalities for all of 2007. Significantly, an Afghanistan scenario once considered under allied control has since April produced more deaths among international forces (149) than the Iraq...
...Thursday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari made a point of highlighting concessions made to his government by the U.S. "The U.S. negotiators indeed show a great deal of flexibility and understanding," said Zebari, who described the latest developments in protracted talks over the future status of American forces in Iraq...
...that the U.S. side considers the pending deal acceptable, effectively leaving final approval to the Iraqi government and the parliament, which must ratify the pact after review by the Prime Minister. But al-Maliki appears to be pressing for more on the question of whether U.S. troops remaining in Iraq would enjoy the same immunity from prosecution that they have in other host countries. Also, it remains uncertain under the new agreement whether U.S. forces would retain the right to arrest and detain Iraqi nationals...
...political footing. Through a series of battles earlier this year, the improved Iraqi security forces nearly managed to marginalize the Mahdi Army militia of powerful Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, the Prime Minister's chief rival. Moreover, the Iraqi army has shown new muscle in Sunni areas of Iraq like Diyala province, even as the Prime Minister shored up Sunni support for his government in Baghdad - a delicate political process involving force and cajoling but little compromise on his part...