1115.org

Iraq’s new democracy clothes may finally be starting to fit. For instance, one aspect of democracy they have wholeheartedly embraced is transparency. To the point where, even when they are conducting sensitive negotiations with other countries, they feel obliged to transparently reveal to the whole world what’s happening behind the scenes.

We have previously been informed about the sweeping demands made by the U.S., which included 58 permanent bases, control of Iraqi airspace, and immunity from prosecution under Iraqi law for U.S. troops and private contractors.

Now, here’s the latest behind-the-scenes scoop from the top-secret negotiations between Iraq and the U.S. over a new long-term Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA):

The US has accepted that foreign contractors in Iraq will no longer have immunity from Iraqi law under a new security agreement now under negotiation, says the Iraqi Foreign Minister, Hoshyar Zebari.

Mr Zebari, speaking to The Independent in Washington, said that if there was a further incident like the one in which 17 Iraqis were killed by workers from the Blackwater security company in Baghdad last September, the Iraqis would arrest and punish the contractors held responsible.

That’s not the only SOFA veil Hoshyar Zebari lifted yesterday:

U.S. and Iraqi officials negotiating long-term security agreements have reworded a proposed White House commitment to defend Iraq against foreign aggression in an effort to avoid submitting the deal for congressional approval, Iraq’s foreign minister said yesterday.

The alternative under discussion will pledge U.S. forces to “help Iraqi security forces to defend themselves,” rather than a U.S. promise to defend Iraq, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said. Although “it’s the other way around,” he said, “the meaning is the same, almost.”

So refreshing to have everything playing out in the open, isn’t it?