US, Iraq sign security pact

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Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mike Mullen, says he feels comfortable with the terms of the  agreement.(CCTV.com)

Mike Mullen, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said, "President-elect Obama has also said that he would seek the counsel of myself and the joint chiefs before he made any decisions so I look forward to that discussion, look forward to the engagement and certainly want to, intend to give him as I do the current president, the best advice I can with respect to where he wants to go."

Iraq's parliament is likely to approve the pact. But the largest Sunni Arab bloc, the Iraqi Accordance Front, says it wants to put the pact to a referendum.

Adnan Al-Duleimi, Sunni Lawmaker, said, "We are, in principle, with the security pact. But we in the Front have many reservations, among which is the release of all prisoners in the US jails without preconditions."

On the streets of Baghdad, many people say the pact is good for their country's interests.

Baghdad Resident, said, "This is the best, it is better than living in this situation, the government cannot do more. There are no alternatives because if the U.S. forces left Iraq, there would be chaos. We are not ready yet for this situation and this time it will be in our interest. We hope it's for the best."

The Iraqi government has grown increasingly confident of its own ability to keep order. Violence has dropped considerably in the country over the past year.

The Iraqi government says October saw the lowest monthly death toll from violence since the war. Iraqi forces now have command in all but five of Iraq's 18 provinces, and led a crackdown on Shi'ite militias earlier this year.