Thursday, December 21, 2006
Najaf turned over to the Iraqis
Security
U.S. forces ceded control of southern Najaf province to Iraqi police and soldiers, who marked the occasion Wednesday with a parade and martial arts demonstrations. But doubts remain about whether the Iraqis, vulnerable to insurgent attacks and militia infiltration, can handle security in more volatile provinces anytime soon. The handover of Najaf came as new Defense Secretary Robert Gates visited Baghdad, seeking advice from top commanders on a new strategy for an increasingly unpopular war just two days after taking charge at the Pentagon. Roadside bombs took the lives of two more U.S. soldiers, one in Baghdad and the other southwest of the capital.
Home to 930,000 people, Najaf saw heavy fighting two years ago, but has been relatively peaceful lately. It was the third of Iraq's 18 provinces to come under local control. British troops handed over southern Muthana province in July, and the Italian military transferred neighboring Dhi Qar in September. U.S. forces closed their major outpost in the region in September, as the 8th Iraqi Army Division and 6,900 police officers assumed greater responsibility in the province. American forces will remain on standby in the area in case violence erupts again.
Critics charge that handing over control here was easy because Najaf is overwhelming Shiite and has not faced the same level of sectarian violence as religiously mixed areas like Baghdad. They have also expressed concern that, with the Americans scaling back, the province could become a key staging ground for Shiite militias with strong ties to soldiers in the largely Shiite army.
"There were the same kind of concerns in Muthana and Dhi Qar and they've done very well," Cichowski countered. Lt. Gen. Nasier Abadi, deputy chief of staff of the Iraqi Army, acknowledged that militia groups hold sway among many soldiers, but said "they can be weeded out." Abadi, a veteran of Saddam's army, said the handover was "important for Iraq because up until now, everybody thinks that the coalition is doing the governing, so now Iraqis need to take over the responsibility." He said his troops lack basic equipment such as aircraft and tanks that will prevent them from handling security in all of Iraq. But he said that he expects U.S.-led forces to provide key equipment throughout next year.
Najaf is home to the iconic Imam Ali shrine, where Shiites believe the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad is buried. Millions make pilgrimages to the city annually, and Shiites from across Iraq come to bury their dead in the huge cemetery.
