BAGHDAD, Oct. 7 -- Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said Tuesday that "bold political decisions" will be needed to approve a deal to extend the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq past the end of this year. "We are very close to a satisfactory result," Zebari said at a joint news conference with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte inside the heavily fortified Green Zone. For months, U.S. and Iraqi negotiators have struggled to reach a security agreement that would replace a United Nations mandate, set to expire Dec. 31, that authorizes the ... (more)