Hopeful Iraqis Taking Lead in Kirkuk

TO GO WITH STORY SLUGGED BC-ME-IRAQ-NORTHERN HOPE BY LAUREN FRAYER--Iraqi army troops patrol downtown Kirkuk, 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2006. Iraqi police have been taking a lead in policing their communities in the oil-rich northern Iraqi city, while U.S. soldiers continue to shadow and train them. (AP Photo/Lauren Frayer) (Lauren Frayer - AP)

U.S. officials say Kurds, who claim they are majority in Kirkuk, are more comfortable with the ways of democracy after 15 years of self-rule in the north since the first Gulf War.

"They've had a 10-year head start in getting themselves organized and looking at how a democratic type system can work. They've had the ability to see beyond what the Iraqis right now are facing _ the violence. They've seen that there can be a better way of life," Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon, commander of the Army's 25th Infantry Division, said in an interview this week.

But U.S. and Iraqi officials say the key to their success in Kirkuk is that citizens here see themselves as Iraqis first, and members of ethnic or tribal groups second.

"All the people came under my command _ Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen. I told them they must work together as brothers," said Aref.

"We are all policemen, and the reason we became police is to save our city," he said in an interview at his office, where ornate gold-embroidered curtains hide sandbagged windows. A photo of him shaking hands with outgoing Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld hangs prominently under a crystal chandelier.

Wind whips across Kirkuk's dusty plains, crisscrossed by verdant riverbeds, and it carries the acrid smell of oil byproducts burning at facilities on the horizon. It's a reminder of what could make this city prosper once violence recedes.

"It's not the time for retribution or payback _ there's too much to lose," Browder said.

U.S. and Iraqi officials have established a telephone hot line for Kirkuk's residents to report insurgent activity or government corruption.

"They're not able to mount large scale terror operations because someone would tell on them here," said Capt. Rob Wolfe, a 37-year-old company commander from Amarillo, Texas.

Wolfe logs time every day sipping tea with Iraqi police commanders, going over training plans and listening to their concerns. He believes such "soft" training pays off.

"These guys are heroes to their people. Some of them came from Kurdish peshmerga militias and they've been fighting all their lives for their country," he said. "They're certainly not going to stop now."