The report said the U.S. military has been keeping a lid on tension
between Arabs and Kurds in the Kirkuk region. Since January 2010, U.S.
forces have also supported the deployment of the Kirkuk Combined Security
Force, designed to eventually comprise six 100-man units, with each
comprising 33-man detachments from the Iraqi army, Iraqi police and Kurdish
militia, known as Peshmerga.
"Washington should retain a brigade-level 'engagement headquarters' in
Kirkuk under the terms of a future U.S.-Iraqi security agreement," the
report, authored by Michael Knights and Ahmed Ali, said.
So far, the United States has been recognized as a credible mediator in
the conflict between Arabs and Kurds over control of Kirkuk. The report said
Kirkuk police chiefs have allowed U.S. forces to operate more freely than in
other areas of Iraq.
"In essence, Kurdish-led, multi-ethnic police forces have provided the
Iraqi lead on security in Kirkuk city since 2003, when the Peshmerga pushed
aside the Baath military's 'cordon of security' to the northwest and east,"
the report said. "The U.S. military has consistently employed a light touch
in Kirkuk, regarding the city as being in safe hands due to the fraternal
postwar relations between American and Kurdish forces."
The institute recommended that the U.S. military establish a special
training mission in Kirkuk and ensure that it remains in place even after
most other forces have left Iraq. The report said this should be done as
close as possible to the Dec. 31, 2011, withdrawal deadline.
The report also recommended that Washington and U.S. oil companies help
train residents of the Kirkuk region in managing the oil sector. Oil from
Kirkuk reaches the international market through Turkey in the north.
"The U.S. government and American oil companies should develop a
trilateral industry training initiative involving U.S. partners, Iraq's
Northern Oil Co., and the Kurdistan National Oil Co.," the report said.
