Bush team pushes hard for Iraq security deal

updated 4:46 a.m. ET Oct. 17, 2008

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration has launched a top-level lobbying campaign to persuade skeptical U.S. lawmakers and disapproving Iraqi politicians to support a security agreement governing the continued presence of American troops in Iraq.

Although congressional approval is not legally required, U.S. lawmakers' support is considered crucial for an agreement to go forward. In Iraq, where the deal must pass through several complex layers of approval, the going is considered even tougher.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Bush's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, are reaching out to key members of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Rice also is pressing senior Iraqi leaders to accept the deal.

The agreement includes a timeline for U.S. withdrawal by 2012 and a crucial but unpopular and potentially controversial compromise that gives Iraq limited ability to try U.S. contractors or soldiers for major crimes committed off-duty and off-base, officials said Thursday.

Obama, McCain briefed on proposal
Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and Republican rival John McCain, both on Senate committees that deal with the issue, were among those being briefed on the proposal by Rice. Officials could not say Thursday if she had talked to them yet.

Neither candidate has signaled a position on the draft in campaign appearances. In their debate Wednesday, McCain made only a fleeting reference to it. "We're now about to have an agreement for status of forces in Iraq coming up," he said, without further comment.

Obama spokeswoman Wendy Morigi said Obama and his running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, "had productive conversations" with Rice. "They look forward to reviewing the text of the draft agreement."

Obama, in a statement he and other senators released during the summer after a trip to Iraq, said they had discussed with Iraqi leaders "the need to give our troops immunity from Iraqi prosecution so long as they are in Iraq."

Rice on Wednesday called senior Iraqi leaders, pressing them to accept the deal that contains elements that many in Baghdad see as a violation of their country's sovereignty, officials said.

"The Iraqis are considering the text, we are talking to the Iraqis," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said. He said Rice had spoken to Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Vice President Adil Abdul-Mahdi, a Shiite like al-Maliki and a top member of the Supreme Council. Rice is working to keep the process moving, he said.

A statement from Abdul-Mahdi's office said he and Rice discussed "ways to promote the agreement in line with the interests of the Iraqi people and to guarantee all their rights." Abdul-Mahdi also met personally on Thursday with U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker, officials said.

U.S. officials said Rice and Crocker told the Iraqis that the agreement is critical for future U.S.-Iraq relations and that it is the final offer the administration is willing to make. The officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss private diplomatic conversations.

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