Second Province Returned to Iraqi Security Forces

The daily stream of news from Iraq tends to be bad. That isn’t the fault of the media, despite what the White House may say. The fact is the news is bad because most of the events taking place in Iraq are counterproductive to US policy as well as Iraqi national interests. One bright spot, however, is the hand over yesterday to Iraqi security of Dhi Qar province by the occupation/liberation forces.

Major Geneneral Richard Sheriff, the commander of British forces in southern Iraq, said, “The provincial government of Dhi Qar has demonstrated that it is ready and capable of taking on responsibility for its security and government.” Translated into Bush-speak, the locals are standing up enough for the British and Italian troops there to stand down. Although the 7,000 Brits in the area will stick around to keep an eye on things, what is called “operational over-watch,” the 1,800 strong Italian force is going home sometime in the next eight weeks.

For the Italians, this is “mission accomplished.” The Italian electorate has been largely against the country’s involvement in Mr. Bush’s war, and the coming withdrawal of the troops will allow them to put the affair behind them. Any complaining will then be the usual European sniping at American policy (this time, justified). Italian Defense Minister Arturo Parisi told Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, “The Italian contingent is going back. The mission is accomplished — the security of the province is in your hands.”

Of course, this doesn’t mean that Dhi Qar province is quiet; its capital Nasiriyah has seen unrest in the last three years. All it means is that the ability of the locals to deal with the existing level of violence is sufficient. It is interesting to note that neither of the provinces handed over to Iraqi forces were part of the American occupation zone. The British zone in the south, with its largely Shi’ite population has been quieter than, say, the Sunni province of Anbar, where things can’t get much worse for the US and the Green Zone government.

The next few weeks are critical for the province. The local forces must succeed in dealing with any violence and be seen to do so without much help from the coalition. This raises the stakes and makes Dhi Qar a potential target for those inclined to continue the resistance. If the government forces can’t stay standing up, the coalition will have to move back into the province or write it off, an option that would be unacceptable.

© Copyright 2006 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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