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U.S. forces have requested joint stationing with the soon to be dispatched Korean "Zayitun" unit, especially in certain regions in Hawija of Kirkuk, Northern Iraq, the Ministry of National Defense said Thursday. The planned dispatch of additional forces may be delayed by further talks between South Korea and the U.S. over the right of command. The advance forces were originally scheduled to head for Kirkuk from April 7 in three divisions, with the main forces following at the end of next month.
Lt. Gen. Kim Jang-soo, chief operations director of the Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, says that with the increase of offensive attacks recently in the Sunni Triangle, opposition forces are gathering in Hawija and the neighboring Hemlin mountains. Kim says, "The U.S. forces have expressed their wish to leave the 25th Division's 2nd Brigade stationed in Hawija." A National Defense Ministry official says that the U.S. believes that Korean forces, organized for peace and reconstruction activities, may not have the military capacity to maintain order in an area where resistance forces are concentrated. "By this judgment, the U.S. wants to undertake direct responsibility of the region," the official says.
Military authorities are planning to accept the U.S. request by jointly stationing both forces at the Kirkuk airport, and propose giving responsibility over Hawija to the U.S. because of the danger posed by opposition forces. Negotiations on the matter of right of command are being held with the Combined Joint Task Force-7 (CJTF-7). If the responsibility of providing maintenance of public order in Hawija is fully given to U.S. forces, the Zayitun unit will assume command over the U.S. 2nd Brigade, but joint operations that may put Korean forces at risk of becoming a target of opposition forces will not be conducted, military authorities say.
(Yu Yong-weon, kysu@chosun.com )
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