From Christian Science Monitor:US forces may stay in the volatile northern city beyond the June deadline for Americans to pull back to bases.
Mosul, Iraq - Attacks have dropped dramatically across Iraq, falling by 80 percent since March, when US and Iraqi forces were locked in deadly fights with Sunni insurgents and Shiite militiamen. Today conditions in many parts of the country appear ripe for US forces to begin pulling back and for Iraqis to take the lead.
But in the northern city of Mosul, violence still rages. US and Iraqi forces continue to battle the latest incarnation of Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), which considers the city a key asset in its self-declared Islamic state. Mosul's location near the Syrian border, where foreign fighters cross into Iraq, adds to its strategic importance. The gains here are fragile, and neither Iraqi nor American military leaders can afford to see it return to insurgents' hands.
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My Comment: Mosul and the Kurds have always been Iraq's Achilles heel. And yes .... I will not be surprised if U.S. troops stay put in Mosul after the June, 2009 pullout date.
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