Few Americans had ever heard of a SOFA until earlier this year, when the Internet lit up with a revelation many observers of US foreign policy had long predicted.  

Despite repeated claims to the contrary, US officials were pressing the Iraqi government to accept an indefinite US military presence, including—and here was the shocker—up to 58 American bases on Iraqi turf. 

The term SOFA, shorthand for Status of Forces Agreement, was suddenly all over the news. The countries have been bargaining feverishly over this and a related pact called a Strategic Framework Agreement. The separate pacts have been conflated and confused by foreign policy experts and critics alike.  

The SOFA provides the legal basis for the presence and operations of US military forces.  

The framework is a more sweeping—albeit nonbinding—deal that addresses all aspects of the bilateral relationship between Iraq and the United States, including the control of bases, communication between Iraqi and US security forces, and the biggest question:  

How long?  

In drafts of the framework, negotiators have referred to "time horizons" for troop withdrawal.  

Tricky semantics, right? You don't have to be a naturalist to realize that a horizon never gets any closer to the observer. 

How To Stay In Iraq For 1,000 Years