Iraq to assume security responsibility in south
A top government official said today that Iraq has an agreement to take over security responsibilities from foreign forces in the south of the country this month.
Such an agreement, however, would not necessarily mean that the United States or its allies troops would pull out, US military officials have said in the past.
Deputy Prime Minister Salam Zikam Ali al-Zubaie was responding to a Japanese news report that British, Australian and Japanese troops will transfer security responsibilities in southern Iraq to Iraqi authorities next week, and soon withdraw from the area.
Such a transfer means the provincial governor would have control, and Iraqi civilian police would be the first to respond, US military officials said recently. US-led coalition forces would only nominally intervene following a request from Iraqi officials.
“There is an agreement to take over the security responsibilities from the British, Australian and Japanese forces in southern Iraq during this month,” al-Zubaie said.
“There is such a plan and such news is not based on nothing. We hope that the Iraqi security forces will live up to their duties there. It is the dream of all Iraqis that our forces will handle security issues all over Iraq.”
In Brussels, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the “situation will arise where we can step down as they (Iraqi forces) step up to the mark.”
Blair’s official spokesman said the handover of individual provinces is a process that will take weeks. “When it would start would be a matter for the Iraqi government, first and foremost,” he said.
Iraqi security forces hope to assume responsibly for Muthana province – where Britain has 150 soldiers – within weeks.
However, Britain’s Defence Secretary Des Browne has acknowledged Muthana is likely to be handed over soon, followed by Maysan – where Britain has 1,000 troops.
The Kyodo News agency, citing people close to the coalition forces, reported that British officials told their counterparts in the other two countries last week that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki will announce the transfer of security authority in southern Iraq on Tuesday.
Officials in the Iraqi prime minister’s media office said they could not confirm or deny the report.
Al-Zubaie said he knew nothing about plans for such an announcement and could provide no other details.
Japan has about 600 troops in Muthanna’s capital, Samawah, carrying out other humanitarian tasks. Australia has about 1,320 troops in Iraq and the Middle East, including around 460 soldiers guarding Japanese engineers in Samawah. Britain has about 8,000 troops in southern Iraq, and roughly 2,000 others in Gulf region.
Maliki announced shortly after taking office on May 20 that Iraqi security forces will start assuming full responsibility for some provinces and cities this month, beginning an 18 month process leading to the eventual withdrawal of all coalition forces.
The US military has also said that coalition forces could begin transferring security control over some Iraqi provinces to civilian authorities and police by the end of the summer, but that Baghdad would not be handed over before the end of the year.
During his visit to Baghdad last month, Blair said that “responsibility for much of Iraq’s territorial security” would be transferred to Iraqi control by December – with Iraqi forces taking control of all 18 provinces within 18 months.
That would fit in with the overall strategy so far: American and international forces hand over security control for specific regions and redeploy to larger bases – where they can act in a support or reserve role. A final future stage would involve the drawdown of troops from those bases.
Such a phased withdrawal would not necessarily have a specific time frame.
According to the strategy, the first stage involves “tactical overwatch,” which has Coalition soldiers drawing back from patrols and allowing Iraqi officers and troops to step in to carry out operations – which would be approved by the US-led command.
That is where things stand now in parts of Iraq.
The next phase is “operational overwatch,” in which Iraqi security forces and civilian police take responsibility under a provincial governor, or other official, and coalition forces are held in reserve in bases that are spread out - intervening when necessary or when asked.
The next phase, which could come as early as 2008, would involve a hand over at a national level – which could then set stage for a large-scale withdrawal a few years later.
