Plan B in Northern Iraq

We'll be leaving Iraq and so our buffer role will be slashed. Yet the need for a buffer in the gray zone between Arab Iraq and the Kurdish north is still needed. So this is how we will try to reduce the friction:

Iraq's experimental Golden Lions security force made up of old foes is getting ready to stand alone as U.S. forces withdraw along the potentially explosive fault line of Kirkuk, the disputed northern oil city.

Assembled as a beacon of stability in a volatile mix of Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen, the Golden Lions brought together Iraqi soldiers and police with the peshmerga of the semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region under the watchful eye of U.S. troops, who act as a buffer between the wary allies.

The force is 380 strong. I'd be happier if an American battalion worked with it for as long as we need to reduce friction. But then, I've been going on about having at least 3 American combat brigades plus special forces (plus supporting forces, totaling 25,000) remain in Iraq after this year for a while now.