
Iraq’s parliament on Thursday approved a security pact with the United States that lets American troops stay in Iraq for three more years. The deal must now be ratified by the Presidential Council, whose approval is expected. Under the deal, US forces must withdraw from Iraqi cities by June 30 and the entire country by January 1, 2012. With an english version of the agreement still to be released, experts claim there may be a dispute over the interpretation of certain parts of the pact. It is for this reason, among others that McClatchy journalist Adam Ashton believes that “some of the other parties have urged for a referendum” on the deal.