After a near-interminable delay that threatened the agreement, the Iraqi cabinet has approved a deal with the U.S. that forces all U.S. troops to leave Iraq by the end of 2011.

The Iraqi cabinet approved the so-called Status of Forces Agreement by a wide margin. Funny what a U.S. president who’s committed to withdrawal can yield. Grand Ayatollah Sistani backed the thing, if half-heartedly, which appears to have given the Shiite blocs room to sign on — in the cabinet at least. Now it goes to the Iraqi parliament, which is admittedly a tougher sell. The parliamentary math is complicated: the more-moderate Sunni faction has its misgivings. Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told The Washington Post that the parliament has to approve this thing before its recess at the end of December.

Remember, the Bush administration intended the Status of Forces Agreement to entrench the occupation of Iraq after Bush leaves office. It now does the exact opposite. In the words of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s spokesman, recorded by the Washington Post:

“The total withdrawal will be completed by December 31, 2011. This is not governed by circumstances on the ground,” the spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh, told Iraqi reporters, pointedly rejecting the more conditional language that the U.S. government had sought in the accord.

Radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr still rejects the deal, evidently believing that the U.S. won’t honor its commitment to withdraw, and arguing that 2011 is way too distant. He’s threatening to renew attacks on U.S. troops if the parliament approves the SOFA. For an interesting and rare dialogue with a Sadr supporter, check out this thread on Firedoglake with Mohammed ibn Laith. (Mohammed’s bottom line: U.S. out now, all U.S. promises are worthless, all the U.S. does is inflame Iraq’s tensions.)

What does this all mean for Obama? I’ll be following this throughout the week.