Kurdish Soldiers to Fight in Baghdad
Prospect of ethnic group's troops in Iraq's
strife-torn capital raises concerns.
By Louise Roug
LOS ANGELES TIMES
Sunday, January 14, 2007
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Baghdad, already a dangerous
battleground for an array of forces, could soon be flooded with another
volatile element: thousands of Kurdish soldiers.
As part of President Bush's new strategy for
Iraq, between 8,000 and 10,000 Iraqi troops will deploy to Baghdad from
elsewhere in the country in the coming weeks, according to U.S. and Iraqi
officials. As many as 3,600 of them could be Kurds. It would be the first time
such a large number of Kurdish forces have been sent to Iraq's capital.
Most of Iraq's fighting takes place between
Sunni and Shiite Arabs, but Kurds — who are mostly Sunni Muslims but not Arabs
— fear that could change if their troops get involved.
"I don't think it's wise," said Mahmoud
Othman, a Kurdish lawmaker in Baghdad. "This is a Sunni-Shiite conflict."
Kurdish troops are not acquainted with
Baghdad, many speak neither Arabic nor English, and their participation could
create an even deeper conflict between Kurds and Arabs, Othman said.
Sunni and Shiite politicians also question
the wisdom of bringing Kurdish soldiers into the conflict.
"I advise the Kurdish people to apply
pressure on their leaders to prevent this step," said Mohammed al-Dayni, a
lawmaker from a main Sunni bloc. Kurdish forces, he said, "will face firm
resistance from both the Sunnis and the Shiites."
Sheik Abdul-Razzaq Naddawi, an aide to
anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, agreed that Kurdish troops
wouldn't be welcome.
"The Kurds, frankly speaking, consider
themselves superior to other Iraqis," he said.
Other developments
• President Bush challenged lawmakers
skeptical of his Iraq plan to offer their own strategy. 'To oppose everything
while proposing nothing is irresponsible,' he said.
• Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., began
a visit to Iraq expressing doubt that the Iraqi government will follow through
on its promises to secure Baghdad. 'This is my third trip here. I've seen the
violence and security problems increase, not decrease,' she said.
• The Pentagon identified a Fort Hood soldier
slain Jan. 7 in Balad: Cpl. Stephen Raderstorf, 21, of Peoria, Ariz.
