US cmdr spells out Iraq mission under new pact

BAGHDAD — A security pact that sets a timetable for troops to leave Iraq requires a shift in how the U.S. carries out combat missions during its remaining time in the country, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq said Friday.

Gen. Ray Odierno said in a written statement to troops that they would be receiving new rules of engagement but that there would be no change to their ability to protect themselves and the multinational force.

(enlarge photo) A U.S Army soldier of Lightning Troop, 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, right, and an Iraqi army soldier secure an area during a joint patrol, in Hay al Tinek neighborhood, northwestern Mosul, 360 kilometers, 225 miles, northwest of Baghdad, Iraq, Nov. 12, 2008. Strategically set, the country's third largest city, fixing embattled Mosul is not only vital in itself but a test of whether the Baghdad government can successfully grapple with potentially explosive forces beneath a still fragile stability achieved elsewhere in Iraq. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

The security pact, "though, will require a subtle shift in how we plan, coordinate and execute combat missions throughout Iraq," Odierno said, adding that under the new terms of agreement, U.S. troops will coordinate and execute all operations with the approval of the Iraqi government and implement them through the Iraqi security forces.

Odierno released the statement a day after Iraq's three-member presidential council signed off on the pact, removing the last legal barrier so that the agreement can take effect Jan. 1.

The security pact requires U.S. troops leave Iraq by January 1, 2012. It also requires American soldiers to withdraw from Iraqi cities by the end of June 2009.

Under the agreement, Iraq will gain strict oversight over the nearly 150,000 American troops now on the ground, representing a step toward full sovereignty for Iraq and a shift from the sense of frustration and humiliation that many Iraqis have felt at the presence of American troops on their soil for so many years.

The security agreement replaces a U.N. mandate that gave the U.S.-led coalition sweeping powers to conduct military operations. The pact is still subject to approval by Iraqi voters in a referendum by the end of July.

Odierno also said U.S. troop would continue to conduct operations in Iraq against al-Qaida and other extremist groups.

"But we must do so with respect for the Iraqi Constitution and laws, and we must continue to treat all Iraqi citizens with the utmost dignity and honor," he wrote.

Odierno said the U.S. will phase in the shift in responsibilities of the military to preserve security gains.

American troops, though, continue to be targeted by insurgents. In an attack Thursday, two American soldiers were killed when a suicide driver detonated an explosive-laden car near an Iraqi checkpoint in the northern city of Mosul, military spokesman Lt. Col. Dave Doherty said.

Iraqi police said eight people were wounded, most of them civilians.

On Friday, three women were killed in Balad Ruz, north of Baghdad, when a bomb planted in a radio exploded, Iraqi officials said.

One of the women picked up the radio bomb up off the street and took it to her home, said the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter. The radio exploded as one of the women was trying to turn it on.

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Associated Press writer Sameer N. Yacoub contributed to this report.

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