Iraq: No legal immunity for U.S. military

BAGHDAD - Iraq's prime minister, Nouri al Maliki reaffirmed his countrycommitment not to recognize the right of impunity (immunity) for U.S. military personnel stationed in Iraq.

Maliki emphasized that the Iraqi government will not give legal immunity to foreign individuals in the country, IRNA reported on Saturday (01/10/2011), citing a local television network in Iraq.

He further said that U.S. military personnel will be asked to leave Iraq as an entitlement 'capitulatory' during the U.S. invasion of Iraq since 2003 that actually brings a myriad of problems and undermine the sovereignty of Iraq.

Rights 'capitulatory' can provide legal impunity for foreign nationals committing crimes in the host country, and allow the state to run special extraterritorial jurisdiction over its own citizens within the limits of the criminal himself.

Approximately 47,000 U.S. troops currently in Iraq, all of which should leave Iraq by the end of 2011 under a bilateral security agreement between Washington and Baghdad in 2008.

The agreement is named to the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) was also forced Washington to end its combat operations in Iraq in August 2010.

Vice President of Iraq, Tareq al-Hashemi, also said recently that the U.S. military presence continued in the country is "problem, not the solution." He added that the withdrawal end of the year they will increase the security of Iraq.

Many observers believe that Washington has no intention to leave Iraq while at the same time U.S. troops set up several air bases in the country.

More than one million Iraqis have been killed during the US-led invasion of Iraq, according to investigation results of Project Censored, an organization based in California.