BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq's cabinet approved a pact on Sunday that will let U.S. troops stay in the country until 2011, setting a final date to end a military presence that began with the 2003 invasion.

The pact, agreed after nearly a year of grueling 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 puts a closing date on a war that has been one of the defining political issues in the United States, 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 of the pact, supported by 27 of 28 cabinet members.
Dabbagh said major factions in parliament had indicated their support. Deputy parliament speaker Khaled al-Attiya said a first reading would be held in the chamber on Monday.
The draft would place the U.S. 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 U.S. invasion.
It calls for U.S. forces to leave the streets of Iraq's towns and villages by the middle of next year. Dabbagh said U.S. forces would hand over their bases to Iraq during the course of 2009 and would lose the authority to raid Iraqi homes without an order from an Iraqi judge and permission of the government.
“We welcome the cabinet's approval of the agreement today. This is an important and positive step,” a U.S. embassy spokeswoman said.