U.S. Talks With Iraq Could Stretch Years

Next White House Likely To Inherit Difficult Negotiations On U.S. Troop Presence In this July 9, 2008 file photo, U.S. Army soldiers from Charlie Battery, Fires Squadron, Second Stryker Cavalry Regiment prepare to search a classroom as they occupy a school during Operation Fires Festung in Qubah, north of Baghdad in Iraq's volatile Diyala province. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo) (AP) The next White House will most likely inherit the difficult negotiations over the long-term status of American military forces in Iraq as disputes linger over setting timelines for expected troop withdrawals, U.S. officials say. U.S. negotiators once hoped to finalize the pact by the end of this month. But the goal has rapidly diminished to finding a stopgap measure by the end of the year. It also appears increasingly likely that the final detailed... [read full story]