国际英语新闻：U.S. to response to Iraqi amendments on security pact soon

WASHINGTON, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- The United States will make an official response to proposed Iraqi amendments for the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) in the coming days, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Monday.

    "We are working towards responding to the Iraqis. Our negotiating team led by Ambassador (to Iraq Ryan) Crocker is finalizing that and we expect to be talking with the Iraqis over the next week," Perino told reporters at the daily press briefing.

    "I think the Iraqis recognize that it is in their interest, andit is certainly in America's national security interest for us to finalize it. So we are working through all the requested changes that they had, and there might be some that we can support; there might be some that we won't be able to support," Perino said.

    The Iraqi amendments were transferred to President George W. Bush during a visit of Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani to the United States on Oct. 29. "We are analyzing those amendments. We obviously want to be helpful and constructive without undermining basic principle," Bush told reporters at the joint press conference with Barzani in White House.

    The United States and Iraq are at odds over the SOFA security pact, which the United States needs as a legitimate support for the station of its troops beyond 2009 after the current United Nations mandate ends on Dec. 31.

    A withdrawal timetable and immunity for the U.S. military personnel stationed in Iraq have been among the most contested issues.