At the "make-or-break" stage of talks with the U.S. on the withdrawal of American troops in Iraq, Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has swept aside his negotiating team and replaced it with three of his closest aides, a reshuffle that some Iraqi officials warn risks sabotaging the agreement.
The decision on the team negotiating the pact, which the Americans have described as the basis of a long-term strategic alliance between the United States and Iraq, remains so sensitive that it has not been announced.
Agreement on U.S. withdrawal from Iraq said to be in peril as Maliki ousts negotiators
