Troops fought for SOFA, White House says

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- Two security arrangements brokered between Washington and Baghdad support the Iraqi people and reinforce state sovereignty, the White House said.

The three-member Iraqi presidential council ratified a framework Thursday for the withdrawal of American forces from the country no later than Dec. 31, 2011. The U.S. and Iraqi governments negotiated that pact, along with a Strategic Framework Agreement that outlines the political, economic and security relationship between both countries.

The White House said in a briefing on the agreements that neither would have been possible without the increased capabilities of the Iraqi government and gains in the security situation that were achieved with the help of Iraqi national forces.

"These agreements are what our troops have been fighting for and working toward," the statement said.

The SFA provides the legal framework for the U.S. presence in Iraq once the current U.N. mandate expires Dec. 31, the White House said. It gives military forces the authority to help maintain security in Iraq following the recommendations outlined in the bipartisan Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group assessments in 2006.

"These agreements will advance a stable Iraq in the heart of the Middle East," the statement read.