2008 Press Releases
Remarks by Ambassador David Satterfield,
Senior Adviser to the Secretary of State, Coordinator for Iraq
to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight
and Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia
March 4, 2008
I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you all today to discuss the U.S. government's progress toward developing a basic framework for normalized relations with the Iraqi government which would include what is known as a status of forces agreement.
Our overarching goal in Iraq is to help the Iraqi people establish their country as a stable, peaceful, democratic nation with an effective sovereign government that can meet its people's needs, all its people's needs, and play a positive role in the region and in the international community.
There is understandable and vigorous debate about the future presence, role and composition of U.S. forces in Iraq. But this administration believes that in pursuit of basic and longstanding U.S. interests that U.S. forces will need to operate in Iraq beyond the end of this year.
The government of Iraq has expressed its strong desire that the United Nations Chapter 7 mandate expire at the end of this year.
The United States and the United Nations Security Council support this objective. It is imperative that the United States negotiate with the government of Iraq an agreement that would provide all necessary legal authorities and protections for our troops to continue to operate in Iraq, an agreement which is in its shape similar in many respects to SOFAs we have across the world, but which will take into account the particular circumstances and requirements for our forces in this country in Iraq.
In addition to a status-of-forces agreement, we intend to establish a strategic framework for a strong relationship with Iraq, reflecting our shared political, economic, cultural and security goals and interests.
This strategic framework will broadly address the topics outlined in the declaration of principles signed by President Bush and Prime Minister Maliki on November 26, 2007.
Both the status-of-forces agreement and the strategic framework come at the urging of the Iraqi government and moderate political forces from across the spectrum of Iraq's ethnic, religious and political communities. Together, they seek an accord that both affirms Iraqi sovereignty and will permit the continued assistance of U.S. and coalition forces in that nation's progress towards full security and peace.
Ambassador Crocker, our ambassador in Baghdad, will serve as the lead negotiator. The Iraqi side is establishing a broadly representative and technically capable team. Formal negotiations will begin this month, starting with overall contextual or framing briefs to begin in the days ahead.
The status-of-forces agreement, Mr. Chairman, will set the basic legal parameters for the United States military presence in Iraq, including the appropriate authorities and protections essential for our troops to operate effectively. These provisions are vital for our military; we owe it to our troops in Iraq to obtain for them the protections they have elsewhere in the world.
The framework and the status-of-forces agreement will not tie the hands of the next president or, indeed, this president. They will ensure that every policy option remains on the table. The size of the U.S. presence in Iraq, the missions to be performed by such forces, if forces are present, are decisions for the president and for the next president to make.
The framework and the status-of-forces agreement will not include a binding commitment to defend Iraq or any other security commitments that would warrant Senate advice and consent.
I wish to be clear: They will not establish permanent bases in Iraq, nor will they specify in any fashion the number of American forces to be stationed there.
In keeping with past practice regarding such agreements, our intent is to conclude the status-of-forces agreement as an executive agreement, rather than a treaty. Congress will be consulted throughout the entire process, as Secretary of Defense Gates and Secretary of State Rice have noted, as negotiations proceed in the coming months.
Over a half-dozen background briefings by senior administration officials, including my colleague, Assistant Secretary Long, have already been held. Ambassador Crocker and General Petraeus are scheduled to testify before the Congress next month.
As with other negotiations, we will not publicly discuss our negotiating positions, but we will ensure that members of Congress are kept fully informed.
The United States, Mr. Chairman, has enduring national interests in Iraq; 2008 is a year of critical transition, both for the United States and for the country and people of Iraq. Our primary objective now is to build a sustainable foundation for success.
We are committed to doing everything we can to ensure that the situation in Iraq continues to stabilizing and that the next administration has maximum flexibility to consider and to adopt its own policies to conditions and circumstances on the ground. This is precisely what an agreement that we seek with Iraq must and will achieve.