By C.J. Chivers
New York Times
09 April 2003
SULAIMANIYA, Iraq, April 9 — The focus of the ground campaign in Iraq has now shifted northward to a string of cities still under Iraqi Army control: Saddam Hussein's hometown and power base, Tikrit, and the oil cities of Kirkuk and Mosul.
The Kurds, who have enjoyed virtual autonomy in regions of northeastern Iraq since the Persian Gulf war in 1991, have forces in both Mosul and Kirkuk, cities they have long regarded as Kurdish. Some Kurds have been suggesting that they may not be willing to wait until American troops and Special Forces in northern Iraq are prepared to attack the two towns.
Kurdish officials have organized and trained what they say are several thousand underground fighters in both cities and have developed plans to seize government offices, security buildings and media outlets.
"With one phone call, we can start an uprising," one Kurdish official said.
That is exactly the chain of events the Americans wish to avoid, if only because neighboring Turkey, a NATO ally with a large Kurdish minority and deep fear of an independent Kurdish region in northern Iraq, has threatened to intervene with its own army if the Kurds here make such a move.
So far, the Americans have exacted promises from the leaders of both the main Kurdish parties here, the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, to refrain from acting on their own. But they recognize that as the campaign in southern Iraq has progressed, Kurdish patience has been running thin.
"We understand that there may come a time when the Kurds say, `Thanks for everything, we've got it from here,' " one American military official said.
The original American war plan foresaw a substantial United States presence in the north. But when Turkey balked at allowing American ground troops into northern Iraq through its territory, the Americans were forced to rethink plans.
Now, there are 2,000 American troops and an unspecified number of Special Operations forces who have already led Kurdish advances against Iraqi lines and Ansar al-Islam, a guerrilla group thought to have ties to Al Qaeda that was driven from its stronghold near the Iranian border some 10 days ago.
Currently, the American plan foresees Kirkuk and Mosul being attacked from the north and east by lighter conventional forces, as well as Special Forces soldiers working with Kurdish fighters, according to Kurdish officials. All would be supported by air power.
The armor for this action has begun to arrive at one of two airfields in the enclave under American control. Kurdish officials said it would take at least a few days to assemble the forces on the ground.
Heavy armored forces deployed from Kuwait that have pushed north in the last three weeks are more likely to attack Tikrit, which is 110 miles north of Baghdad. Iraqi defenses around that city are said to have been reinforced recently; its neighborhoods and palaces are regarded as a potential hiding place for Baath party leaders, including Mr. Hussein, should he still be alive.
There are indications that whatever the state of morale and readiness among Iraqi units, the Pentagon is resisting the euphoria of today — Iraqis welcoming Americans in Baghdad, or Kurds celebrating here — and hopes to move methodically.
Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that about 10 Iraqi divisions, including as much as one brigade of the Republican Guard, remained in the main area still out of American control. "They have been subjected to bombing by air power and that will continue for some time," he said.
But the military situation is changing rapidly, and contains the potential for some chaos. Even if Kurds hold back in the north, a mass Iraqi surrender is possible.
American Special Operations soldiers told journalists they expected Iraqi forces on the main road leading to Mosul from the Kurdish-held areas to withdraw within the next 24 hours, possibly into the city itself.
They said the Iraqi units in the town of Khazir, which have been putting up stiff resistance, include a brigade from the Republican Guard's Adnan Division, which was thought to have moved to Baghdad weeks ago. Fedayeen fighters have also joined the fighting, they said.
Kurdish and American forces today seized control of Maqlub Mountain, a strategic peak that dominates the area northeast of Mosul. The city can be seen from the mountain's peak; only 20 miles of flat terrain separates American and Kurdish forces from the city.
The other city along the front, Khanakin, is near a busy border crossing point with Iran and is the closest point on the line to Baghdad.
In the last 10 days, roughly 2,000 Kurdish fighters have been moved to this area, backed by the American Special Forces.
Their presence not only harasses the Iraqi units to their south and west, but also prevents the Iranian-backed Badr Brigade from moving into a position from which it might take unilateral action of its own.
The Badr Brigade, with several thousand fighters, is the military wing of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, part of the Iraqi opposition. Its fighters have long lived in exile in Iran, where they have received training and support. It now has a military force in northern Iraq.
The group has spoken against American military intervention and potential occupation in Iraq, and said it would pursue its own military agenda, independent of Pentagon ambitions.
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Citation: C.J. Chivers, "Attention Now Shifts to the Role of the Kurds," New York Times, 9 April 2003.
Original URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/10/international/worldspecial/10FRON.html
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