The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Washington

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates is satisfied with a draft agreement with Baghdad on the legal status of US forces in Iraq and has begun consultations with Congress, his spokesman said Thursday.

Gates believes the draft agreement "adequately" protects US troops in all facets of their operations from combat to legal protections, said Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon press secretary.

"We would never advocate for a document for a t status of forces agreement that did not adequately protect our forces," Morrell said. The status of forces agreement would replace a UN mandate as the legal basis for the US military presence in Iraq, and also set in motion a timeline for the withdrawal of US combat forces from Iraq by the end of 2011.

Morrell said the agreement reached by US and Iraqi negotiators would not be final until it had been approved by leaders in both countries, but it was close enough that Gates had decided to consult key members of Congress.

On Thursday, the secretary began making calls to the leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees to discuss key points of agreement contained in the draft, the spokesman said.

Senator Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, raised a warning flag on Wednesday on the question of whether Iraq would be given jurisdiction over US military personnel.

"I am skeptical of any agreement that would subject US servicemen and women to the jurisdiction of Iraqi courts in the middle of a chaotic war and in the absence of a judicial system that has been proven to be fair and protective of the rights of individuals," he said in a statement.

Morrell would not go into specifics but indicated that Gates believed an acceptable compromise had been reached on the issue, which has been a major stumbling block in the months long negotiations.

The United States has previously ceded jurisdiction over US military personnel accused of committing crimes while off duty or off base to host countries, notably Japan and South Korea.