Pact stops US incursions on Iraq's neighbours

A top Iraqi official said yesterday that the proposed security pact between Baghdad and Washington would prevent the US military from launching attacks on Iraq's neighbours.
"There is a very clear article in the SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) draft that says the US can not, should not, launch any operation from Iraqi soil against other countries," Iraq's national security advisor Mowaffak al-Rubaie told reporters.
Washington and Baghdad are currently negotiating the pact which would determine the presence of American troops in Iraq after the end of 2008 when the UN mandate expires.
Rubaie's comments came after the weekend raid by US troops on a village in northeast Syria in which Damascus said eight civilians were killed.