U.S. forces to withdraw from Iraq

Reuters is reporting that the U.S. and Iraq have reached a final agreement after months of negotiations on a pact that would require U.S. forces to withdraw from Iraq by 2011. Senior U.S. officials in Washington have confirmed that the final draft has been agreed by both sides and would require U.S. troops to leave by the end of 2011, unless Iraq asks them to stay longer.

Iraq is claiming that it has secured the right to prosecute U.S. soldiers for serious crimes under certain circumstances, an issue both sides had long said was holding up the pact. U.S. officials have confirmed a compromise had been reached on the immunity issue but gave no further details.

The agreement was submitted to Iraqi political leaders for approval, a first step toward ratifying it in the Iraqi parliament.