US forces leave Iraqi towns and cities

ON A day hailed as a milestone on Iraq’s road to full sovereignty, US forces yesterday completed their formal withdrawal from Iraq’s cities and towns.

Six years and three months after the US invasion and occupation, Iraq’s security forces were given responsibility for maintaining order, ready or not. Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki hailed the redeployment as a “victory” and declared a holiday for “national sovereignty day”.

The mood of celebration was somewhat soured, however, by a car bombing in the northern city of Kirkuk that killed at least 25 people yesterday.

The bomb, which also injured at least 40, struck a busy market in a largely Kurdish part of Kirkuk, a city viewed as a potential flashpoint between the Shia Arab-led central government and Kurds. Police said the toll could rise.

By stressing the importance of the urban pull-out, Mr Maliki is trying to win over the 73 per cent of Iraqis who oppose the presence of US forces in their country.

Many are sceptical about the Shia-dominated government’s ability to maintain order, provide electricity, water and jobs, and govern fairly on behalf of all the country’s communities.

Over the past few months, US troops have deployed to bases on the outskirts of urban areas but will join Iraqi-led patrols and operations and provide logistics support to Iraqi units.

Some 50,000 US combat soldiers could remain in urban centres as “trainers” and “advisers”.

The overall force of 134,000 troops will begin to depart in stages after the Iraqi parliamentary election in January 2010.

There will be a complete withdrawal by January 2012.

The redeployment coincided with bidding for contracts by foreign oil companies for the development of six oil and gas fields.

The awarding of contracts was televised to convince Iraqis, deeply outraged by rampant corruption, that the oil sector, nationalised 30 years ago, will not be taken over by predatory multinationals.

Many Iraqis believe the Bush administration attacked and occupied the country to seize its vast oil reserves, the second-largest in the world.

Unfortunately for the government only one of the bidding consortiums agreed to Iraq’s terms for one of the projects. Analysts say companies are waiting to see if Iraqi forces can handle security before committing to projects.

Ahead of redeployment, 250 Iraqis were killed in bombings and four US soldiers died in attacks on Monday night.

Iraq’s forces face serious threats. Sunnis could take revenge on Shias for the ethnic cleansing of Baghdad which has reduced the Sunni pre-war majority to 15 per cent of the capital’s inhabitants.

Armed Shia factions belonging to the government are involved in power struggles in the capital and the south. The Kurdish autonomous region, meanwhile, is challenging Baghdad by taking steps to annex portions of three northern provinces.