Sources from the Mosul police department are accusing the United States of violating the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with Iraq this morning when US troops entered two police stations, one in western Mosul and another in eastern Mosul during a patrol.
The police did not elaborate on the nature of the US visits to the stations or what exactly occurred. US troops were withdrawn from Mosul at the end of June, but have remained along the outskirts of the city limits and still patrol inside the city.
US troops have had a tense relationship with Mosul’s police since a February incident in which a US patrol was attacked by Mosul police inside a station. A US soldier was killed and four others wounded. Their Iraqi interpreter was also killed.
Though the US eventually captured suspects they seemed fairly certain were behind the incident in early June and turned them over to the Mosul police, they have complained that the police are dragging their feet on the incident. The Mosul police department claimed they couldn’t even confirm that the two captives were even police, let alone the police involved in the shooting.
The US needs to leave Iraq in total. There are no vital interest at issue here. The deaths of Americans and Iraqis are a tragic waste, completely unnecessary.