Posted on 06/22/2006 8:17:11 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
SAMAWAH, Iraq (AP) - Coalition forces will pull out of a relatively peaceful, West Virginia-sized region in southern Iraq by the end of July, a British officer said Thursday - the first transfer of an entire province to Iraqi security forces.
However, the international troops will maintain a presence nearby and be prepared to help the Iraqis if needed in Muthanna province, a predominantly Shiite area of 550,000 people bordering Najaf, Basra and Saudi Arabia.
U.S. Brig. Gen. Rudy Wright said the transition would be closely watched.
"Everybody is in great anticipation that this will continue on," he said at a joint news conference with provincial leaders. "This is the first of many steps within Iraq, and it's not about the coalition - it's about Iraq."
The overall U.S. strategy calls for American and international forces to hand over security control for specific regions and redeploy to larger bases, which can act in a support or reserve role.
British Col. Giles Vosper-Brown, who commands a task force of 252 British troops and 360 Australians in Muthanna province, said his forces were already packing up and were just waiting for the Iraqi prime minister to give them a specific date to move.
"The agreement for transition is that by the end of July there will be no permanent presence in Muthanna, so all the forces within it will need to move out by then," he said during a visit to the British-Australian camp and the nearby provincial capital of Samawah.
His remarks offered the first specific timeframe for the British and Australian forces to leave the province.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced shortly after taking office May 20 that Iraqi security forces would soon assume full responsibility for some of Iraq's 18 provinces, starting an 18-month process leading to the eventual withdrawal of all coalition forces.
Japan, which also has a presence in Muthanna province, announced this week that it was withdrawing the 600 troops from Iraq.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard says his troops will stay in Iraq but switch to a role providing backup to the security forces.
Lawmakers in London have supported plans to redeploy the British troops to nearby Basra. They say such a move offers the best chance of restoring security in that troubled area and speeding the troops' eventual return home.
However, Britain's conservative newspaper the Daily Telegraph labeled the redeployment plans "withdrawal-lite," claiming that British troops would be left thinly stretched in volatile Iraq and Afghanistan.
Britain reduced its troop strength from 8,000 to 7,200 last month, and is likely to make further reductions in November, a defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of a lack of authorization to speak about the plans.
Vosper-Brown's remarks came during a briefing at a dusty outpost under a tent that provided little relief as temperatures hovered around 125 degrees.
"We're starting to draw down this camp. There are various containers being loaded. The Australians and the Japanese are doing the same," he said.
The people of Muthanna "are going to be responsible for their own security, their own governance, and will become self-reliant, and they're ready for it now," he said.
Vosper-Brown stressed that a coalition force will remain "postured just outside of this province" to help the Iraqis if requested, but he provide no details except to say the foreign troops would maintain contact with provincial officials and continue training Iraqi army and police forces and conducting reconstruction projects.
He said the Japanese had spent about $300 million in the area and that the other multinational forces had spent just under $35 million, with another $40 million promised for projects to improve power, water, health and other needs.
Provincial Gov. Mohammed-Ali Hassan Abbas al-Hassani said his people were ready and he hoped their success would pave the way for similar handovers throughout Iraq.
"We wanted to take over the security issue. We want to be an example for all the provinces," he said at the news conference at the government offices in Samawah, an impoverished city on the Euphrates River about 230 miles southeast of Baghdad.
Underscoring fears that insurgents target police they accuse of collaborating with U.S.-led forces, many special forces wore black ski masks to hide their identities while they stood guard.
But 22-year-old Raad Jameel and several of his colleagues said they were excited by the opportunity.
"We are glad to get the security issue and we are fully prepared," Jameel said, standing with his arms resting on an AK-47 slung across his chest and his mask pulled up to reveal his face.
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Associated Press writer David Stringer in London contributed to this report.
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