BAQUBA, Iraq, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- U.S. military forces in Iraq are well into planning for closing bases large and small around the country and moving displaced troops into other facilities as a result of the Strategic Framework Agreement between Washington and Baghdad.
Forward Operating Base Callahan in east Baghdad, which played a central role in last spring's battles against Shiite extremists in nearby Sadr City, is now back in the hands of the Iraqi Ministry of Trade, which eventually will reopen the multistory building as a shopping center.
In Baquba, the capital of Diyala province northeast of Baghdad, Combat Operation Post Hatoon has been given back to the private owners of the large housing compound, and additional handovers are to follow.
According to U.S. military officials, about 15 other FOBs and COPs in Baghdad will be returned to private, government or Iraqi military control before June 30, when all American troops are to have relocated from the nation's cities, towns and villages, as stipulated by the agreement governing continued U.S. presence in the country.
In Diyala province, one-third or less of the 14 U.S. installations will be in American hands by the withdrawal deadline, said Maj. John Sutton, the assistant operations officer of 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team.
"Just because we pull back doesn't necessarily mean we aren't going to have any presence. We just won't in the populated areas themselves," he said.
"Prior to 2006, when we started moving out to these other places, we were on the SuperFOBs and we were doing it (missions) then, but with a less effective Iraqi security force. Now we're pulling back with an Iraqi force with increased capability.
"So, yes, we're going to be a little bit farther away, but we have a partnership now with a capable entity. It will balance out," he said.
The Strategic Framework, formerly known as the Status of Forces Agreement, was signed by Washington and Baghdad late last year. Under its terms, U.S. troops must now have court-issued warrants before detaining suspected terror suspects, must have Iraqi military approval for operations and must withdraw from populated areas. It also requires U.S. combat forces to completely leave the country by the end of 2011.
FOBs and COPs affected by the pact played a key role when the United States "surged" an additional 30,000 soldiers into Iraq in mid- to late 2007 to quell insurgent and extremist violence in Baghdad and elsewhere. Previously, U.S. troops would clear an area of gunmen and then find they had returned after U.S. troops moved on, U.S. officers said. The outposts established a more permanent presence of force, deterred or interdicted recalcitrant gunmen trying to return and gave nearby residents a sense of security, all of which paved the way for rebuilding and hearts-and-minds efforts.
There were other benefits as well. Soldiers on COPs and smaller FOBs said they came to know the areas in which they operated well and developed relationships with Iraqis that often led to intelligence tips.
"The fact that we wanted to go inside and get to know them on a personal level surprised them at first, I think," Capt. Todd Looney of the 1st Battalion, 68th Infantry Regiment, said of his weekly visits to a coffee and hookah shop from COP Ford near Sadr City. "The interaction humanized us in their eyes, we weren't just "Star Trooper" figures with our dark glasses and body armor.
"They loved it, the fact that we wanted to go inside and socialize with them."
During those visits, which were part of presence patrols in the neighborhoods that surrounded the COP, soldiers drank tea with Iraqis, played with the children and played cards with the adults. The next day, the business cards Looney left behind often paid dividends -- people phoning in to report suspicious persons or activities.
Looney and his men have since departed Iraq. COP Ford, with new tenants, is slated for closing.
Information on the number of FOBs and COPs in Iraq was not immediately available. U.S. Central Command authorities declined to disclose it, citing security considerations, but there are scores.
Some are SuperFOBs -- in essence, mini-cities -- built around former Iraqi air force facilities. Al-Asad, 100 miles west of Baghdad, and Balad, about 45 miles north of the capital, for example, have two main runways, each of 13,000 and 14,000 feet. The two bases are expected to remain in operation after the June 30 deadline. So is the Camp Victory complex on the edge of Baghdad. In Diyala province, FOB War Horse outside the provincial capital of Baquba will remain open, Sutton said.
FOB Normandy near the Diyala River Valley and FOB Caldwell in the eastern section of the province will also remain in place.
Other facilities, some of them currently shared with Iraqi Security Forces, will be transferred to local control.
"The bottom line is we don't want to degrade security," said Sutton, who is in charge of the brigade's base transition effort. "We work with the Iraqi provincial government to let them know our intentions, and our Iraqi security forces need to know our intentions as well.
"The first thing we do is that threat analysis: What are the cause and effects if we were to pull out of this particular COP, not withstanding the security agreement?"
Sutton said the process is "very systematic and deliberate." Every week representatives from the brigade's legal, operations, engineering and civil affairs units meet on COP closures and the issues involved. Among those issues are determining ownership of the buildings and land, ownership of equipment or other materials at the site, and the possibility of compensation payments for damage.
The meetings also involve environmental concerns. Sutton said property should be returned in their "original state" and if there are any oil spills or sewage problems, for example, U.S. forces must clean them up before leaving.
