Maliki has been pressing Washington to accept the draft instead of going back to the UN.

"We want to sign such an agreement so that we don't go to the Security Council," he said in an interview carried by Times on October 11, suggesting that process would also be bumpy road. "You know that the Security Council is now going through crisis. There are differences among the members."

Once the US troops lose legal status here, they "will be confined to their bases and have to withdraw from Iraq. We always say that a sudden withdrawal may harm security," he said.

Before going to the parliament, the draft needs the endorsement of the cabinet and a security committee consisting of president, vice presidents, prime minister, speaker of the parliament and leaders of major parties.

To sell it to the lawmakers is expected to be tough.

The UIA holds 85 of the 275 seats in the parliament. Iraq's Kurds, who have been favoring a continued US presence here, controls 53.

The Sunni parties have not yet given an explicit stance on the text of the security pact, while Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose faction holds 30 seats, is a long-time hard-liner in demanding a swift leave of foreign troops.

Iran, the arch-rival of the US, strongly opposes the deal. Most of Shiite parties and prominent political and religious leaders have close ties with the neighbor.

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said senior military leaders are satisfied with the agreement, with which the US troops will be "well protected".

On Friday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said it will be difficult for the two sides to reopen negotiations on the agreement draft.

(Xinhua News Agency October 21, 2008)