Printer-friendly VersionThe Kurdish Globe
Gen. Ray Odierno, the top U.S. officer in Iraq, told reporters training started three weeks ago in Kirkuk, Nineveh, and Diyala provinces, and that about 70 percent of the tripartite force's checkpoints had been established.
"By January 31 they [checkpoints] will all be manned, and we will begin joint security patrols," he said, without specifying how many American soldiers had been deployed. "It is about protecting the population...which has been a target of Al-Qaeda and others who are trying to exploit political differences. This force has been put together in an attempt to stop the vulnerability of people in the disputed areas."
Kurdish leaders expressed satisfaction regarding joint-force checkpoints. But some Arab officials expressed dismay.
MP Noureddine Hayali, a Sunni Arab, warned in a Baghdad press conference of "the complacency about dividing Nineveh province and the creation of autonomous regions on national, religious, sectarian, and ethnic basis," renewing his "objection to the deployment of any common forces under any justification."
Hayali said the deployment of common forces in these provinces "has political and divisive goals, more than the security goals, and the most affected province is Mosul."
But Kurdish MP Ahmed Noor stressed that point: "The deployment of common forces in Mosul is to achieve security in it. This proposal was given by the American side; the federal government and the KRG have approved it."
Noor denied any "external or international intervention in this matter," and said that reports from American and Iraqi forces indicate that "al-Qaeda is found in Mosul, and it is the first and final reason for deploying the common forces."
The joint forces in Diyala province will also protect those coming from Iraq to visit Shiite shrines. This includes those who enter the Iraqi border near the 8th brigade. The joint forces also must protect Iraqi borders during parliamentary elections, according to the trilateral agreement.