November 28th, 2008: U.S./Iraq Security Pact
The U.S./Iraq Security Pact, a proposed security agreement that called for the full withdrawal of American forces from the country of Iraq by the end of 2011, was approved on Nov. 28, 2008. An overwhelming majority approved of this proposal; twenty-seven of the twenty-eight cabinet ministers who were present at the two and a half hour session voted in favor for it. This pact, which took almost a whole year to negotiate with the U.S., was crucial because it not only set a date for the American troops’ withdrawal, but also put new restrictions on American combat operations in Iraq, which started on January 1 2009, and an American military pullback from urban areas by June 30. Also, there was some degree of jurisdiction in some cases over serious crimes committed by Americans who are off duty and not on bases.
