Iraq Accuses U.S. Of "Crime" That Breaks Security Pact

By Steve Hynd

The AP reports that a U.S. raid in Southern Iraq in which a woman bystander died has led to Iraqi prime minister Nour Al-Maliki calling for the arrest and trial of U.S. officers who commanded it.

A statement from Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki � in his role as commander general of Iraqi forces � called the raid a "violation of the security pact."

He asked the U.S. military "to release the detainees and hand over those responsible for this crime to the courts," according to an Iraqi security official who read the statement to The Associated Press.

The cascade of protests and questions began just hours after the sweep into Kut, which the U.S. military said targeted suspected backers of Shiite militias believed to have links to Iran.

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered at the mosque in Kut, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad, to decry the American action and demand an investigation.

The provincial council then called an emergency meeting and a three-day mourning period. The Iraqi Defense Ministry also ordered the arrest of two high-ranking Iraqi officers for their alleged roles in allowing U.S. forces to operate in Kut.

"We condemn this crime," said Mahmoud al-Etaibi, head of the council.

The U.S. military said its troops acted within the framework of the security pact, saying "the operation was fully coordinated and approved by the Iraqi government."

The accord, which took effect Jan. 1, requires American commanders to coordinate raids and other pre-planned strikes with the Iraqi government and military, or work in joint U.S.-Iraq units.

At least one person died in the raid, which the U.S. military said targeted the financier of Shiite militia factions believed to be backed by the Iranians. Iraqi officials placed the death toll at two.

The Defense Ministry spokesman, Mohammed al-Askari, said an Iraqi brigade commander and a battalion commander were arrested for "allowing American troops to conduct a military operation in Kut province without informing the Iraqi government or coordinating with it."

It's been clear for a while now that U.S. military commanders regard the Iraq/US security deal - the so-called SOFA agreement - as an inconvenience which they're willing to parse and weasel-word their way around. Even General Odierno has often spoken in terms of the SOFA being ignorable, until reined in by SecDef Gates - and since then has said the SOFA is renegotiable. The Iraqi government, by contrast, appears to want their allies to stick to both letter and spirit of what they regard as the full and final agreement. Unless the Obama administration exerts far more control over the military there will be more incidents like this, opening a credibility gap which will by itself do more to create violence than sticking to the agreement ever would.