Iraq: Troops withdraw but U.S. drones remain

   Although U.S. troops are withdrawing from Iraq as required by the SOFA agreement with Iraq many Americans will remain. About 10,000 Americans will remain to staff the humongous U.S. embassy in Iraq as well as other consular offices. Included will be many security contractors to ensure the safety of personnel. Private contractors will also be involved in training Iraqi forces. However there will be another U.S. presence as well.
    Unarmed U.S. spy drones will be allowed to patrol in norther Iraq. These Predator drones will operate out of a Turkish air base in Turkey. The planes will be used to spy on rebels of the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) who use camps in northern Iraq to launch attacks into Turkey. The information provided by the drones has been used by Turkey to launch air strikes. Turkey has on occasion even sent troops into the area causing Iraq to complain.
     This type of military assistance has helped improve relations between Turkey and the U.S. That the Iraqi government has agreed to allow the drones to continue their surveillance is rather surprising since the Iraqi government has protested against Turkish incursions and air attacks on Iraq. Perhaps the central government is less concerned about these incursions than the regional Kurd government in northern Iraq. For more see this article

U.S. drone crashes into Iraqi Islamic Party office in Mosul.

This is good grist for conspiracy theorist mills. One wonders how it managed to hit the office of the Iraqi Islamic Party in Mosul. You would think that is would be in the countryside. Of course it is quite possible that it went out of control. No word about any casualties or what damage it caused. We usually think of drones in Pakistan or Afghanistan but they are obviously used all over.


U.S. drone crashes into Iraq political party office
Reuters
Saturday, September 26, 2009 10:01 AM
MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - An unmanned U.S. reconnaissance drone crashed in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul early on Saturday, hitting the offices of one of Iraq's biggest political parties, the U.S. military said.
No injuries were reported, and there was no indication the aircraft was shot down, said Major Derrick Cheng, a military spokesman in northern Iraq.
Cheng said it was a coincidence that the drone struck the local offices of the Iraqi Islamic Party, Iraq's biggest Sunni Arab political group, the military said.
The U.S. military frequently deploys drones in Iraq as part of measures to counter roadside bombs. The cause of the crash is under investigation.