On new White House website, Iraq policy has old feel

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In its desire to get a new White House website up and running quickly (see our original post here), President Barack Obama’s administration does not appear to have had time to get all its policy statements up to date, at least when it comes to Iraq.

The section on Iraq says that Obama and Vice President Joe Biden “believe it is vital that a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) be reached so our troops have the legal protections and immunities they need.” In fact, U.S. and Iraqi negotiators agreed the draft of just such a pact back in October last year and the final text was ratified by Iraq’s presidency council in early December. The agreement came into force at the start of this year.

The statement on Iraq seems to draw heavily on material from Obama’s presidential campaign. But Obama will have the chance to outline his latest thinking personally when he meets with his national security team on Wednesday, his first full day in office.