Region | Iraq
Jokes and kebabs help hammer out strategic pact
Iraqi and US officials conduct meetings in a 'cosy atmosphere'.
- By Basil Adas, Correspondent
- Published: 00:08 June 20, 2008
Baghdad: In a secluded area inside Baghdad's fortified Green Zone, negotiators are using personal relations, jokes and kebabs to hammer out details of the strategic pact that could decide the future of Iraq.
The negotiations between Iraqi officials and their US counterparts on the planned Status of Forces Agreement [Sofa] are being "conducted in a cosy atmosphere between friends who are used to each other and have worked together for many years," a high-ranking Iraqi officer in the Ministry of Defence told Gulf News.
"I think this friendly atmosphere will help sort out the complicated issues and reach solutions." There are two accords being negotiated - a Strategic Framework Agreement to outline the long-term US-Iraqi security relationship, and Sofa, which would provide a legal cover for US troops in Iraq.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki had said that initial efforts to reach the agreement have reached "a dead end," and negotiators are working on new approaches. The US hopes to sign the agreement by the end of July.
Negotiators are meeting in more than one place inside the Green Zone, the Iraqi military official said.
These houses are located inside the Republican Palace Compound of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussain, which is now completely controlled by the US army. "Only high-ranking Iraqi officials can enter, unlike the rest of the zone's areas where Americans, Iraqis and other foreigners can wander."
The talks, the officer added, are being facilitated by the personal ties that bind the negotiators. "These meetings are always accompanied by lunches or dinners of the famous Iraqi dish 'Shish Kabab' because the US military officials and diplomats love this dish." He said meetings usually start in the mornings and finish in the evening.
According to the Iraqi official, the security talks are attended by Iraqi president Jalal Al Talabani and his two deputies Tarek Al Hashemi and Adel Abdul Mahdi, and visited regularly by Al Maliki.
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