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U.S. troops could quell Iraqi-Kurd tensions

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The Washington Post

Published: August 18, 2009

Updated: 08/18/2009 12:23 am

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The top U.S. commander in Iraq announced Monday he would like to station U.S. troops along disputed areas in northern Iraq to build rapport between Iraqi government troops and those under the command of the autonomous Kurdish government.

Gen. Ray Odierno said Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Kurdish officials and provincial officials have been receptive to the idea, which could be implemented this fall. The plan comes amid rising violence in northern Iraq's disputed areas, which has heightened tension between the Baghdad government and Kurdish officials. Scores of Iraqis have been killed in bombings in the region in recent weeks.
Iraqi soldiers and Pesh Merga troops, the Kurdish militia, have come close to conflict in recent months as Baghdad officials have deployed more troops to northern Iraq to curb Kurdish expansion.

U.S. officials see the tension on the 300-mile frontier as the most potentially destabilizing conflict in Iraq. They fear it could unleash a civil war as U.S. troops draw down in the months ahead.

McClaltchy-Tribune

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