Kurdistan Would Welcome U.S. Troops Without Pact

The president of Iraqi Kurdistan said Friday that his semi-autonomous region would welcome U.S. troops if Iraq and the United States cannot finalize an agreement governing U.S. troops in Iraq after 2008.

“If the United States requests, I am confident the Kurdish regional parliament and people of the Kurdistan region  . . .  would welcome that,” Massoud Barzani, president of the Kurdistan Regional Government, said at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Barzani said he hopes that the two countries do conclude a status of forces agreement to govern the future U.S. troop presence beyond the Dec. 31 expiration of a U.N. mandate. And despite expressing doubts about whether the Iraqi parliament will approve the draft accord, Barzani gave it a strong endorsement.

“This agreement is better than any other alternative available,” he said through a translator, saying its approval by Iraqis was still possible.

While the practical implications of basing U.S. troops in Kurdistan are not clear, the mere discussion of it could strengthen perceptions of Kurdish autonomy. The region has been a bright spot of relative safety and economic prosperity while war consumed the rest of the country, and the Kurds struck separate deals with oil companies to tap the region’s large reserves.

The United States and Iraq have disagreed over how far Iraq’s legal jurisdiction should extend to U.S. troops, a schedule for withdrawals and other issues. The State Department said it is reviewing Iraq’s requests for amendments, though it has not disclosed the details. U.S. officials have said making changes is unlikely, but they have not ruled that out. President Bush has expressed confidence a deal will be struck by year’s end.

 Oct. 31, 2008

CQ POLITICS