Between worry, cautious optimism, Ninewa awaits U.S. withdrawal

NINEWA / IraqiNews.com: A number of officials in Ninewa expressed concern over the possible deterioration of the security situation in the province after the withdrawal of U.S. forces from it, while others expressed optimism regarding the improvement of the Iraqi forces’ capabilities. Deputy Chairman of the Ninewa council, Deldar Zebari, voiced confidence over the ability of the local police and army forces to maintain security after the U.S. withdrawal from the city. “There is an agreement to withdraw U.S. troops from all cities, and we do not want to exclude Mosul. We are preparing ourselves for that day,” Zebari told IraqiNews.com news agency. The U.S.-Iraq Status of Forces Agreement (official name: “Agreement Between the United States of America and the Republic of Iraq On the Withdrawal of United States Forces from Iraq and the Organization of Their Activities during Their Temporary Presence in Iraq”) is a status of forces agreement (SOFA) approved by the Iraqi government in late 2008 between Iraq and the United States. It establishes that U.S. combat forces will withdraw from Iraqi cities by June 30, 2009, and all U.S. forces will be completely out of Iraq by December 31, 2011, subject to possible further negotiations which could delay withdrawal and a referendum scheduled for mid-2009 in Iraq which may require U.S. forces to completely leave by the middle of 2010. “We will face difficulties after the withdrawal, but we hope there would be no security deterioration and we will try to deal with the situation,” the member of al-Hadbaa list said. He described the security situation in the province as “improving”, asserting that Iraqi security forces became more capable than before. For his part, the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), Saadi Ahmad Biera, expected that Mosul would be the last city the U.S. forces would leave because of the complicated security condition in it. “I do not believe that the withdrawal from Mosul would be quick as it suffers unstable security situation,” he added. Abdulkarim Ahmad, a political analysis, described the security condition in Ninewa as “vague”. “The situation still unclear but local residents hope that violent acts will decrease after the withdrawal of the U.S. troops,” he said. Meanwhile, Member of the Ninewa council, Mustafa Jameel al-Sinjari, believes that the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Ninewa along with the continuity of the deterioration of services will negatively affect the security situation. “Iraqi forces in Mosul are not enough to maintain security and the police performance is worrying and the federal government should take this into consideration,” al-Sinjari told IraqiNews.com news agency. Mosul, the capital city of Ninewa, lies 405 km north of Baghdad. The original city of Mosul stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient biblical city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial areas on both banks, with five bridges linking the two sides. Despite having an amount of Kurdish population, it does not form part of the area controlled by the Kurdistan Regional Government Kurdistan RegionG). There are different communities in Mosul like Christians, Shiites and Kurds along with a Sunni majority. SH (I) 2