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US pullout from Mosul mired in confusion: commanders
Mosul (Iraq) (AFP) June 20, 2009 Frontline US army commanders in Iraq say the withdrawal of American troops from the troubled northern city of Mosul is mired in confusion just 12 days ahead of the deadline for them to pull out. Officers have told AFP they urgently need new rules to protect their men in the event of a dispute after June 30, when US soldiers must leave cities and major towns nationwide. They also believe the political message emanating from Baghdad about the US withdrawal has created a false impression among Iraqi citizens that American troops will no longer be seen on Mosul's streets when, in fact, they will. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and General Ray Odierno, the top US officer in Iraq, have said the pullout will go ahead as planned, although some Americans will be allowed to stay on in training or military advisory roles. But commanders on the ground are unclear about how this will be defined. "I just want Maliki to let us know what we can and can't do," said Captain John Bradley, an officer in the 3rd Brigade 1st Cavalry Division, based at Camp Diamondback on the outskirts of Mosul. "All of the battalion guys have concerns. All we have at the moment is the security agreement, and all that says is 'no unilateral patrols'." Maliki has warned that insurgents and militias will likely step up attacks in the coming weeks in a bid to undermine confidence in Iraq's own security forces as the June 30 deadline approaches. The situation in Mosul, where violence -- often targeting Iraqi and US security forces -- occurs daily, is being tackled by joint patrols and US-led and funded civil projects to boost local employment. US officers and their Iraqi counterparts told AFP they want this strategy to continue, but say they do not have any guidelines for how and when they will be allowed to enter Mosul after June 30. "I want to know if I am operating within the rules," added Bradley, 29, who is on his third tour of Iraq and commands more than 100 men. "The government also needs to tell the Iraqi people how (post-June 30) this is going to work because I would hate for there to be a perception on the streets that Americans are disobeying the SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement)." The SOFA, signed between Baghdad and Washington last year, stipulates that US troops must leave major urban areas across the country by the end of this month. Odierno said on Monday that he felt "much more comfortable now" about Mosul, finally appearing to rule out repeated suggestions that Americans could stay on in the city, which alongside Baghdad, is seen as Iraq's most violent. However, security concerns remain and one American officer said political considerations could deter Baghdad from seeking US assistance after the June 30 deadline if violence flares. "The last thing we want is to see this area fail because of some question of Arab pride in not being able to ask for our help," said Captain Joe Himpelmann, also a commander in the 3rd Brigade 1st Cavalry. "We will work within the security agreement and when local commanders ask for our help we will give it. This is not just a case of come July 1 we are gone," he added, referring to multi-million dollar waste management, sewerage and building programmes run by the US army in conjunction with local government. Iraqi officers, meanwhile, say they lack vital equipment to counter roadside bombs and other attacks that plague Mosul, and which they believe are now primarily conducted by criminal gangs rather than the Al-Qaeda-linked insurgents who turned the city into a hotbed of militant violence. "My soldiers will do their job but we still need the Americans," said Colonel Mohamed Khalaf Hussein, who is in charge of COP (command outpost) Sukar, an Iraqi army and police headquarters in eastern Mosul. "They are like our right hand, especially when it comes to air support and logistics. "We need electronic-jamming devices (to block signals used to detonate roadside bombs), because our vehicles don't have them. We also need air support because our soldiers feel more secure with helicopters above them, and it deters the enemy." Share This Article With Planet Earth
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US hands over Sadr City base to IraqBaghdad (AFP) June 20, 2009 The US army handed over a base in the Baghdad neighbourhood of Sadr City, once a bastion for anti-US insurgents, to Iraqi forces on Saturday as the deadline nears for its pullout from Iraq's cities. The transfer of the Joint Security Station (JSS) comes barely more than a week before a June 30 deadline for US forces to pull out of Iraq's urban centres as required by a security accord signed ... read more |
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