The US military said on Wednesday it has no plans for permanent bases in Iraq, a day after Baghdad said it was at odds with Washington over US troop deployments beyond 2008. “The US has no desire to have permanent bases in Iraq,” spokesman Kevin Bergner told reporters in Baghdad.

His remarks came a day after Iraqi spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said ministers discussed the proposed Status of Forces Agreement which is due to be concluded by next month and insisted that Iraq’s national interests must be protected.

“A joint vision on this issue is yet to be achieved between the two sides, and ... the Iraqi side has a different vision, and it will not undercut or be negligent towards Iraqis’ rights and sovereignty,” Dabbagh said.

In February, President George W Bush acknowledged that the US would seek a military presence in Iraq for “years” but pledged that he would not establish permanent bases.

The Bush administration has said any deal with Iraq would be similar to more than 80 such pacts Washington has with other nations around the world governing the scope of US operations and providing protection for its soldiers. It says the pact will not specify troop levels, establish permanent bases in Iraq or tie the next president’s hands.

But US Democrats say a pact with Iraq is different because troops are in a war zone, and fear the deal would be used by the administration to set in stone a US presence far outlasting Bush’s term, which expires in January.

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