Iraq's Cabinet approved a pact yesterday that will let US troops stay in the country until 2011, setting a final date to end a military presence that began with the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
The pact, reached after nearly a year of gruelling negotiations with Washington, must still be approved by the Iraqi Parliament, but Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said he expected that to happen by the end of the month.
It gives a closing date to pull out troops from a war that has been one of the defining political issues in the US, the Middle East and around the globe for much of the past decade.
"The total withdrawal will be completed by December 31, 2011. This is not governed by circumstances on the ground. This date is specific and final," Cabinet spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said.
He said the pact was supported by 27 of 28 Cabinet members who attended a meeting to vote on it. Nine were not present.
Mr Dabbagh said most major factions in Parliament had indicated their support. Deputy Parliament Speaker Khaled al-Attiya said a first reading would be held in the chamber today.
The draft would place the US force in Iraq - which now numbers about 150,000 - under the authority of the Iraqi government for the first time, replacing a mandate enacted by the UN Security Council after the US invasion.
It calls for US forces to leave the streets of Iraq's towns and villages by the middle of 2009. Mr Dabbagh said US forces would hand over their bases to Iraq during the course of 2009 and lose the authority to raid Iraqi homes without an order from an Iraqi judge and permission of the government.
The White House welcomed the Cabinet decision as a "positive step" yesterday, while noting that the process was not yet complete.
"We remain hopeful and confident we'll soon have an agreement that serves both the people of Iraq and the US well and sends a signal to the region and the world that both our governments are committed to a stable, secure and democratic Iraq," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.
Passage in Iraq's Parliament seems likely although not assured. Followers of anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr oppose the agreement, and the largest Sunni Arab bloc says it wants it put to a referendum.