Golden Lions to control Kirkuk after US pullout

Iraq's experimental Golden Lions security force, made up of old foes, is getting ready to stand alone as US forces withdraw along the potentially explosive fault line of Kirkuk, the disputed northern oil city. Assembled as a beacon of stability in a volatile mix of Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen, the Golden Lions brought together Iraqi soldiers and police with the peshmerga of the semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region under the watchful eye of US troops, who act as a buffer between the wary allies. In the coming weeks, US soldiers will leave the Iraqi and Kurdish forces increasingly alone on checkpoints and patrols in Kirkuk, Nineveh and Diyala provinces, in areas claimed by the central government in Baghdad and the Kurdish capital Arbil. With the US withdrawal from Iraq scheduled for year-end, more than eight years after the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussain, American troops hope the members of the amalgamated force can overcome years of animosity and hold together. "We don't have any differences between the peshmerga and the Iraqi army," said veteran peshmerga Captain Ahmad Mohammad, waving towards a Golden Lions patrol in the Gurga Chal neighbourhood of Kirkuk. "We look at them like we are the same." Whether that goodwill between historic foes lasts may help determine the near-term fate of the tinder-box city considered a likely flashpoint for future conflict in Iraq. Sitting atop a vast sea of oil — by some estimates 4 percent of the world's reserves — Kirkuk is secured by the Arab-led central government, but claimed by Arbil, which says the city is predominantly and historically Kurdish. Small numbers The Kurdish and Iraqi forces came together more than a year ago across northern Iraq, but in small numbers; now about 1,200 in the three provinces. By comparison, the Iraqi security forces number more than 600,000, and the peshmerga at least 100,000. A Golden Lions battalion, about 380, trains in Kirkuk. The lion is a symbol of fighting strength for Iraqis. "It's very good. You know why? Because both sides, now they have become like spies against each other," said Colonel Bethune Mohammed, the police chief of Keokuk's Azadi district. "Each side is not letting anyone do anything wrong." On a recent patrol of upscale neighbourhoods around Kirk, the Iraqis arrived in pick-ups, the Americans in massive armoured vehicles. Residents hawked as the one-time enemies — the Kurds fought guerrilla battles against Iraq's army for years and exploited the 1980s Iran-Iraq war to launch attacks — walked side by side. While there has been talk of a single uniform for the Golden Lions, for now the Kurds wear distinctive green camouflage while the Iraqi police are in blue and the Iraqi army in khaki. The Iraqis take the lead. The Americans hang back, watching.