Originally published Tuesday, August 19, 2008 at 12:00 AM
Kurds determined to keep grip on tense city in northern Iraq
The phone rang, and it was answered by a Kurdish security commander, Hallo Najat, sitting in his office in this deeply divided city. On the line, he...
The New York Times
KIRKUK, Iraq — The phone rang, and it was answered by a Kurdish security commander, Hallo Najat, sitting in his office in this deeply divided city.
On the line, he said, was a U.N. official wanting to know if the Kurdish militia, the pesh merga, had left its bases in northern Iraq and was occupying Kirkuk.
No, Najat told the caller. But after hanging up, he wryly revealed the deeper truth about Kirkuk, combustible for its mix of ethnicities floating together on a sea of oil: The Kurds already control it.
"It's true," Najat said. "What is the need for the troops?"
Of all the political problems facing Iraq today, perhaps none is so intractable as the fate of Kirkuk, a city of 900,000 that Kurds, Arabs and Turkmens all claim as their own. The explosive quarrel over the city is one major barrier to creating stable political structures in the rest of Iraq.
Kurdish authority is visible everywhere in the city. In addition to the provincial government and command of the police, the Kurds control the Asaish, the feared undercover security service that works with the U.S. military and, according to Asaish commanders, U.S. intelligence agencies.
Asaish officers are often the first to the scene of an attack and, other Kurdish officials concede, seem always to have the best intelligence.
The Kurds' control over the security forces — and their ability to use it for political purposes — was evident three weeks ago, rival groups say, after a suicide bomber attacked Kurdish demonstrators, igniting a riot that left dozens dead and hundreds wounded.
After the attack, a mob of Kurds set upon a Turkmen political headquarters, eventually firebombing the building. At some point, the Turkmen guards inside fired at the crowd. All in all, U.S. officials say they believe, far more people were killed and wounded in the riot than in the bombing that touched it off.
Yet, while the police quickly arrested 13 Turkmens at the headquarters, charging them with firing on the crowd, they did not apprehend any of the Kurds who burned the building.
The Kurds' accumulation of power has stoked tensions with Arabs and Turkmens. "There is much fear," said Mohammed Khalil, the leader of the Arab bloc on the provincial council. "The Asaish are saying they will annex Kirkuk by force, and that is terrifying people." Arabs also say the Asaish carry out kidnappings, a charge Asaish officers deny.
Under Saddam Hussein, tens of thousands of Kurdish families were driven out of Kirkuk, replaced by Arabs as part of his drive to obtain a firmer political grip on the enormous oil reserves here. But after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, Kurdish militiamen reversed the process, driving out Arabs and bringing in Kurds. Arabs and Turkmens now make up 40 percent of Kirkuk's population, according to U.S. military estimates.
![]()
The Kurds want to fold Kirkuk into the neighboring Kurdistan region. They also warn any plan involuntarily stripping them of power will be harshly contested.
In sweeps conducted with the Americans, the Iraqi army has helped establish stability this year in other volatile parts of Iraq. But Iraqi troops have largely stayed out of Kirkuk.
After the July 28 attacks, however, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered in a battalion from a nearby base. The troops took up positions in the city.
Aware that part of the proposal being debated in Baghdad was to send in a far larger force to administer security — which would mean a mostly Arab force — the Kurds objected strenuously.
They were not the only ones. The U.S. military commander here, Col. David Paschal, said he feared that if Baghdad sent in additional troops, Kurdish leaders would retaliate by sending in their own militia from northern Iraq, creating a potentially disastrous confrontation.
"I just saw this continued escalation of force happening," he said. Baghdad is expected to withdraw the troops, according to U.S. commanders.
Paschal said he blames all the political parties for inflaming tensions to serve their interests. But he said it was hard to comprehend the level of mistrust.
"Negotiations here are, 'You give me everything I want, and I will walk away happy,' " he said. "It is hard for us to appreciate the level of ethnic hatred."
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
Senate Democrats split on health bill's fate
UPDATE - 04:05 PM
SC gov faces 37 charges he broke state ethics laws
U.K. started planning early for war, leaked papers show
Vaccine to kill nicotine buzz now in late tests by small drug firm
India's feeling bruised even before White House visit

Real Salt Lake wins MLS Cup
Real Salt Lake defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy with penalty kicks after 120 minutes of play at Qwest Field in Seattle.
general classifieds
Garage & estate salesFurniture & home furnishings
Sporting goods
just listed
8 Drawer Dresser with Attached Mirror - $200
8 seat pecon formal dining table and china hutch - $1500
A American Table, Chairs and Bench - $275
More listings
POST A FREE LISTING
shopping
Give yourself a treat and visit Watson Kennedy's Holiday Open Houses
More minding the store
events for Monday, Nov. 23
- Contractors equipment and vehicle auction
- Pitch Black Weekend Sale at Mapel
- Karan Dannenberg Clothier Black Friday Sale
- Dish It Up! Totally Truffles
editors' picks
More shopping guides- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Tugboat sinks at Seattle waterfront pier
- Illegal workers quietly let go
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
- Craigslist adoption ad: A plea by young mother-to-be? A scam?
- Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
- Woman stabbed by stranger in North Seattle
- Snow piles up on Cascade slopes
- Denny Triangle gains skyline, but tenants slow to come
- Illegal workers quietly let go
328 - Climate change speeds up since 1997 Kyoto accord
200 - Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
170 - Metro won't cut bus service after all
137 - Historic health care bill clears Senate hurdle
93 - New Husky recruit: Enes Kanter
81 - Tattoos at Mill Creek Church pierce skin, soul
78 - Jerry Brewer: Seahawks can't lean on the Hutch Crutch now
70 - UW, WSU once again meet to see who's worse
64 - Ranking the Pac
53
- Sprouts, raw fish on attorney's 'do not eat' list
- Tattoos at Mill Creek church pierce skin, soul
- Illegal workers quietly let go
- Food-safety lawyer's wish: Put me out of business
- Rediscovering Moab, 'the most beautiful place on Earth'
- Architects, chefs find 'kid' within to build Gingerbread Village
- It's possible to recover a life lost to hoarding
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Taste | The Great Pie Bake-off pits friends and fruit




