DTN News: After Withdrawal, Iraq Moves To Restrict US Forces

DTN News: After Withdrawal, Iraq Moves To Restrict US Forces

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) BAGHDAD, Iraq - July 19, 2009: The Iraqi government has taken a step forward for a more independent handling of the country's affairs, imposing new restrictions on US activities in Iraq.

U.S. soldiers patrol during a joint operation with Iraqi police in Kut, 150 km (95 miles) southeast of Baghdad July 1, 2009. All U.S. troops are due to withdraw from Iraq by 2012, after invading to topple Saddam Hussein in 2003.

Following a security accord between Baghdad and Washington, which ended the presence of US troops on the streets of Iraq on June 30, the Baghdad Operations Command issued a letter to top US commanders limiting their movements in the city.

Iraq's top commanders called on their US counterparts to "stop all joint patrols" in Baghdad, banning US resupply convoys from traveling in day time.

Iraqi officials have also called on their US counterparts for an immediate notification in the event of "any violations of the agreement."

The new restrictions, which were issued soon after American soldiers withdrew to military bases on July 2, have raised concerns among US commanders who believe the new limits would endanger the safety of their troops.

If insurgents realize "some of the limitations that we have, that's a vulnerability they could use against us," a senior US military intelligence official argued. Another US commander, however, described the new limitation as a result of mistranslation of the security pact.

Commander of the Baghdad division Major General Daniel P. Bolger called the limits "contrary to the spirit and practice of our last several months of operations," adding that US forces will engage in combat operations in urban areas to avert or respond to threats, with or without help from the Iraqis.

"Maybe something was 'lost in translation'. We are not going to hide our support role in the city. I'm sorry the Iraqi politicians lied/dissembled/spun, but we are not invisible nor should we be," Bolger wrote in an e-mail obtained by The Washington Post.

"This is a broad right and it demands that we patrol, raid and secure routes as necessary to keep our forces safe," he wrote. "We'll do that, preferably partnered", he added.

The US commander's insistence on the continuation of combat comes despite an agreement with Iraqi authorities, under which US combat operations across Iraq are due to end by September 2010 and all US troops will be out of the country by the end of 2011.