The parliament of Iraq approved an agreement last week that places the United States firmly on the road to withdrawing its forces by the end of 2011 and Iraq on the road to full sovereignty. This looks like light at the end of the tunnel.

Could things go wrong? Of course. That's what happens in war. But Americans should rejoice that their nation now is committed to get its combat forces out by no later than Dec. 31, 2011. President-elect Barack Obama has said he still hopes to withdraw them even sooner, within 16 months of his inauguration, and nothing in this agreement would prevent that. We hope that political and security conditions make that possible.

The most delicate part of this process may be the next seven months. The pact calls for U.S. soldiers to withdraw from Iraqi cities, towns and villages by June 30, 2009. That will shift most of the security burden directly to the Iraqi army and police, with U.S. troops acting as a backup. That may make it harder for U.S. troops to integrate operations closely with the Iraqis.

But the Iraqis clearly want American troops out of their living room. To make sure that the Americans stick by the bargain, the Iraqis have scheduled a popular vote on the new agreement in July of next year. They are betting that the Americans will abide by the terms of the new pact in order to make it more likely that Iraqi voters will approve it.

In addition to setting a timeline for withdrawal of U.S. forces, the new pact guarantees that they will be governed by U.S. law while they are on duty. But it also provides that the Americans will take new steps to abide by Iraqi law and custom. For example, Iraqi warrants will be required before U.S. forces can search houses or real estate, except in the case of actual combat operations.

The essence of this agreement is that it places the future of Iraq more firmly in Iraqi hands. With an American withdrawal now determined by a certain date, the Iraqis have a deadline to settle the outstanding disputes that divide them along ethnic and sectarian lines, particularly the distribution of oil revenues among regions and the status of the city of Kirkuk.

Deadlines are good. They focus effort. What matters most is how quickly the Iraqis move to seize the opportunity now before them.