The U.S. is turning over the Green Zone in Baghdad to the Iraqis today. The UN mandate expired at midnight and has been replaced by the new status of forces agreement. While the Americans will still have some heavily guarded compounds and will maintain a security presence, their footprint will be much smaller.
The agreement says Iraq may request help from the U.S. military “for limited and temporary support” in providing security for the Green Zone, but it leaves the details to be worked out by [bilateral] committee members who were recently appointed.
Speaking privately, U.S. officials said they will try to make their presence in the Green Zone less conspicuous in coming days. But they will remain in charge of issuing badges that grant varying levels of access into the area. They said they will not immediately dismantle a vast security apparatus that includes hundreds of Peruvian and Ugandan guards, body-scanning machines, bomb-sniffing dogs and surveillance cameras.
Now begins a period of transition. The exact details of the American transfer will be worked out in the coming months, but Baghdadis will notice some immediate changes.
“On January 1, we are going to control this,” Adnan Karim, 22, an Iraqi soldier manning a checkpoint at one of the entrances to the Green Zone, said, beaming. “The U.S. will be here just as observers. It’s a matter of pride.”
In recent days, Iraqi flags have sprung up along the Green Zone’s mazelike entry points. More Iraqis have been allowed to drive inside, clogging roads that were once dominated by U.S. military vehicles and armored sport-utility vehicles.
The timing of this slow transfer happily coincides with the transfer of power in Washington DC, and the combined effect will hopefully offer a chance for a new beginning. With luck, the process will be orderly (unlike the fall of Saigon) and will not result in a resumption of chaos in Baghdad.
I think that would be best for everyone.
