|
|
"A comprehensive, collaborative elections resource."
|
Iraqi-Kurd force to take over in Kirkuk after U.S. withdrawal
|
|---|
| Parent(s) |
Issue
|
| Contributor | ArmyDem |
| Last Edited | ArmyDem Jul 29, 2011 01:30pm |
| Logged |
0
|
| Category | News |
| Media | News Service - Reuters |
| News Date | Wednesday, July 27, 2011 07:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | By Jim Loney
KIRKS, Iraq | Wed Jul 27, 2011 11:17am EDT
KIRKS, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq's experimental Golden Lions security force made up of old foes is getting ready to stand alone as U.S. forces withdraw along the potentially explosive fault line of Kirkuk, the disputed northern oil city.
Assembled as a beacon of stability in a volatile mix of Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen, the Golden Lions brought together Iraqi soldiers and police with the peshmerga of the semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region under the watchful eye of U.S. troops, who act as a buffer between the wary allies.
In the coming weeks, U.S. soldiers will leave the Iraqi and Kurdish forces increasingly alone on checkpoints and patrols in Kirkuk, Nineveh and Diyala provinces, in areas claimed by the central government in Baghdad and the Kurdish capital Arbil.
With the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq scheduled for year-end, more than eight years after the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, American troops hope the members of the amalgamated force can overcome years of animosity and hold together.
"We don't have any differences between the peshmerga and the Iraqi army," said veteran peshmerga Captain Ahmed Mohammed, waving toward a Golden Lions patrol in the Gurga Chal neighborhood of Kirkuk. "We look at them like we are the same." |
| Share |
|
|
2¢
|
|
| Article | Read Full Article |
|
| Date |
Category |
Headline |
Article |
Contributor |
|
|
