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Navigation Primary Navigation Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Secondary Navigation Africa Europe Latin America Middle East North America Search Search: Iraq official urges approval of US security accord By ROBERT H. REID,Associated Press Writer AP - Sunday, November 9 BAGHDAD - A top Iraqi official warned Saturday that time is running out to sign a new security agreement with Washington, saying the country still needed U.S. troops despite improved security. Also Saturday, a U.S. soldier was killed and two others were wounded by a roadside bomb in north Baghdad _ the first combat death in the capital area in three weeks. A suicide bomber killed eight people Saturday and wounded 17 west of Baghdad, Iraqi police said. Both attacks show that militants have still not given up the fight despite setbacks at the hands of U.S. and Iraqi forces. "I hope that we can settle this matter as soon as soon possible because time is running out," Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh said of the long-delayed security pact. "The security improvement that has been achieved is very important. The support of U.S. forces in the coming period will still be very important." Iraq's parliament must approve the agreement by the end of next month when the U.N. mandate expires. The new agreement would keep U.S. forces in Iraq until 2012 and give the Iraqis broader authority over military operations until then. Without an agreement or a new U.N. mandate, however, the U.S. military has warned it will have to suspend operations in the country. But strong opposition to the agreement has emerged, especially within the majority Shiite community that is the support base for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Last Thursday, the U.S. responded to Iraqi requests for changes in the draft to address opponents' concerns. Al-Maliki's government has not said whether it is satisfied with the changes or whether it will submit the draft to parliament soon. One senior official told The Associated Press that it could take a month to decide on the agreement once the draft goes to parliament. He spoke on condition of anonymity because the issue is politically sensitive. Saleh, a Kurd, cautioned that Iraq would enter a "period of a legal vacuum" if the U.N. mandate expires without the agreement having been approved. "So we have to ... settle this issue as soon as possible," he said. Many Iraqi officials and lawmakers privately acknowledge that the country's army and police are still unable to maintain security on their own. But they find it politically risky to support an agreement that would continue what most Iraqis consider U.S. military occupation _ even though the deal includes a date for the mission to end. But the Iraqis rely heavily on the U.S. military not only for fighting insurgents but for a range of services including air traffic management, training, air surveillance and infrastructure improvements. All that would cease after Dec. 31 without an agreement or a new mandate. "The most important thing is that politicians must spell out what is the alternative if the agreement is refused," Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi told reporters Saturday. "This is a serious point that the public needs to understand." Uncertainty about the security agreement simply adds to the confusion over the future of the Iraq mission since Tuesday's election victory by Barack Obama. The president-elect pledged to remove all combat troops within 16 months of taking office _ well ahead of the departure date in the draft agreement. However, Iraqi officials say Obama has assured them he will take no hasty decisions and will consult with the Baghdad government and U.S. commanders first. Violence is down sharply across the country since the U.S. troop surge of 2007, and Iraqi security forces have taken responsibility for security in most of the 18 provinces. But attacks continue, indicating that extremists remain a threat. The suicide bombing occurred at an Iraqi checkpoint near Ramadi in Anbar province, the former al-Qaida stronghold that was transferred to Iraqi control Sept. 1. Police Col. Yassin Duweich said the bomber stopped his car at the checkpoint and was ordered to step out for a security search. As he waited to be searched, he detonated a suicide vest, which triggered another explosion in the car, Duweich said. U.S. officials believe the key to lasting peace is for Iraq's religious and ethnic communities to reach power-sharing agreements. However, deep-seated rivalries remain, and recently new tension has flared between Arabs and Kurds in the north. Many Arabs believe the Kurds want to expand their three-province self-ruled region, known as Kurdistan. Last September, clashes nearly erupted between Iraqi soldiers and Kurdish defense forces that moved outside the self-ruled region, allegedly to defend Kurds living in villages under central government control. Many Kurds fear the Shiite-led government in Baghdad is trying to encroach on Kurdish rights to self-rule which they have enjoyed since 1991 and which were enshrined in the 2005 constitution. Those fears were heightened Saturday when al-Maliki called for amendments to the Iraqi constitution to give more power to the central government. Al-Maliki said the constitution, which he helped draft, was written in haste and needed to be revisited to protect Iraq's national unity. "A strong federal government must be built which has full responsibility over security, sovereignty and other issues," al-Maliki told a conference in Baghdad. "Basically, responsibility should be given to the federal government, which undertakes building and protecting the country." Kurdish politicians promptly dismissed al-Maliki's proposals. "We reject any attempts to limit the powers of the Kurdistan region or any other province," said Falah Mustafa Bakir, in charge of foreign relations in the Kurdish regional government. Another prominent Kurdish lawmaker, Mahmoud Othman, said the central government should be strong enough, but "this does not mean that the government should be the controller of everything while regions and provinces have no power to do anything." Al-Maliki's remarks were also directed at his main coalition partner _ the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council _ which wants to create a similar self-ruled region in the nine-province Shiite south. Al-Maliki's Dawa Party, which is also Shiite, and the movement of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr both oppose the autonomous region as a threat to national unity. ___ Associated Press Writers Sameer N. Yacoub, Bushra Juhi and Sinan Salaheddin contributed to this report. 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