Foreign Forces to Be Asked to Withdraw From Kurdish, Shia Areas

'(Al-Bayyna) The Ibrahim al-Ja'afari government will ask the multinational forces to withdraw from Kurdish and Shia neighborhoods, which are stable and have good security.

The move is seen as an initial step before foreign forces are withdrawn from Baghdad, Salahaddin, Mosul, and Diyala, which witness daily acts of violence. Addul Aziz al-Hakim, head of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, and Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi are trying hard to put this move into practice.

(Al-Bayyna is a weekly paper issued by the Hezbollah Movement in Iraq.)"
The Kurdistani

Looks like Sadr and friends are ready to consolidate power in their regions. This is bad news for the upcoming ratification vote. They will have control of the ballot box with no chance of any independent verification of any results.