Las Vegas Review-Journal

Gains in Iraq remain fragile

Problems that led to rise of IS persist as U.S. reduces troops

- By Susannah George The Associated Press

QAIM, Iraq — From their outpost on Iraq’s westernmos­t edge, U.S.

1st Lt. Kyle Hagerty and his troops watched civilians trickle into the area after American and Iraqi forces droveoutth­eislamicst­ategroup. They were, he believed, families returning to liberated homes, a hopeful sign of increasing stability.

But when he interviewe­d them on a recent reconnaiss­ance patrol, he discovered he was wrong. They were families looking for shelter after being driven from their homes in a nearby town. Those who pushed them out were forces from among their “liberators” — Shiite militiamen who seized control of the area after defeating the IS militants.

It was a bitter sign of the mixed legacy from the United States’ interventi­on in Iraq to help defeat the militants. American-backed military firepower brought down the IS “caliphate,” but many of the divisions and problems that helped fuel the extremists’ rise remain unresolved.

The U.s.-led coalition, which launched its fight against IS in August 2014, is now reducing the numbers of American troops in Iraq, after Baghdaddec­laredvicto­ryoverthee­xtremists in December. Both Iraqi and U.S. officials say the exact size of the drawdown has not yet been decided.

U.S. and Iraqi commanders here in western Iraq warn that victories over IS could be undercut easily by a large-scale withdrawal. Iraq’s regular military remains dependent on U.S. support. Many within Iraq’s minority communitie­s view the U.S. presence as a buffer against the Shiite-dominated central government. Still, Iranian-backed militias with strong voices in Baghdad are pushing for a complete U.S. withdrawal, and some Iraqis liken any American presence to a form of occupation.

That has left an uncomforta­ble limbo in this area that was the last battlefiel­d against the extremists.

“Let’s go win us some hearts and minds,” Sgt. Jonathan Cary, 23, joked as he and Hagerty and the patrol convoy set off from a base outside the town of Qaim, evoking a phrase used in American policy goals for Iraq.

After just a few hours moving on foot across farmland and orchards to a cluster of modest houses, Hagerty realized the families he thought were returnees to the area were in fact newly displaced. Their homes in Qaim had been confiscate­d by the government-affiliated Popular Mobilizati­on Forces, or PMF, made up mainly of Shiite paramilita­ry fighters backed by Iran.

“Our end goal is a stable Iraq, right?” Hagerty said later, back at the base. “But when you see stuff like that, it makes you wonder if they are ever going to be able to do it themselves.”

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States