U.S. forces fight for Iraqis' hearts, minds

By Sharon Behn
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
May 10, 2007

Lt. Col. Barry Huggins (center) sits on the back of the Stryker vehicle to discuss the day's patrol operations with his soldiers after consulting a map of Baghdad.  Sharon Behn (THE WASHINGTON TIMES)

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First of two parts
    BAGHDAD — U.S. forces in the Iraqi capital are "fighting a two-front war, block by block," says Command Sgt. Maj. Alan Bjerke of the battle for Baghdad, where his soldiers face daily bomb and gunfire attacks along the city's sectarian fault lines.
    Every day since the surge began in early February, U.S. soldiers have gone out among this city's 6 million people for 10 to 12 hours at a time. They patrol the streets, sit in cramped Iraqi homes listening to families, mediate disputes, raid homes, detain suspects, and uncover bombs, weapons, suicide vests and the tools of torture.
    Roughly halfway into what U.S. commanders acknowledge is their last, best chance to turn the tide in Iraq, there are pockets of peace in the capital where — when the military blocks off a neighborhood — citizens can crowd onto the street to shop, talk and drink tea, and children can circle around a willing soldier shouting "Mista, Mista, give me one ball."
    But there are problems in Iraq much greater than a soccer ball can fix. And they may be greater than a U.S. force projected to peak at about 160,000 troops can accomplish unless the Iraqi government is able to capitalize on the small wedges of peace that U.S. forces are creating.
    U.S. commanders say they will not be able to make a fair assessment of the new strategies until September. But even as fresh U.S. troops pour into Baghdad — 4,000 arrived last week — Iraqis' confidence in their own government is eroding.
    "Half the parliament is with al Qaeda, and the other half is with the militia," said Feras, a young Iraqi who, like many of his countrymen, would not be quoted by more than his first name. "We have a dirty parliament, a dirty militia and a dirty war."
    Cabinet ministers, Feras charged over cups of tea, are loyal only to their parties and are totally corrupt.
    "They are not working for their country; they are working for their future," he said in disgust. "If you want to make peace, you have to take away all their guns and their power."
    Moving in
    The key to the Baghdad security plan put in place by Gen. David H. Petraeus is to secure neighborhoods by placing U.S. troops among the Iraqi people in small bases known as Joint Security Stations (JSS) or Command Outposts (COP).
    Sitting in the shade of a well-tended flower garden in one of the wealthier neighborhoods on the edge of the Sadr City slum, 1st Lt. Chris Alexander explained the theory to Capt. Ahmer, a national police officer who for security reasons would provide only one name.
"In the past, it was hard because units patrolled for security only. Now you see Americans living with you, in JSSes, so they can get to know the people and help on a more personal level than before," Lt. Alexander said.
    U.S. troops, working side by side with Iraqi army or police, mount daily patrols from these stations and outposts but, in reality, are little closer to their Iraqi neighbors than before.
    The posts are normally secured behind one or two rows of 10-foot-high concrete walls; in some cases, the windows are partly boarded up and guards are posted at the entries. Even then, the troops feel dangerously vulnerable: In recent weeks, at least three car bombs have slammed into the walls of outposts, and troops are shot at every day.
    Soldiers also find it hard to present a friendly face to Iraqi civilians after seeing their colleagues killed and dismembered by snipers and roadside explosives.
    "It's a natural tendency, when you lose your buddy, to lash out," said Lt. Col. Frank Andrews of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, which patrols a large area south of Baghdad.
    But Command Sgt. Maj. Jeff Mellinger, interviewed shortly before leaving Iraq after three years in the theater, said the troops understand the restraints.
    "It's not a dilemma; it is just how it is. It's who we are — we aren't them. The terrorists, the murderers, they are willing to do anything, no conscience, no remorse.
    "We have got principles, and we are going to maintain the moral high ground. Does it handicap us? Sometimes. [But] we are not going to play their game by their rules," he said.
    Getting worse
    Another feature of the new security plan is the creation of so-called "gated communities," designed to protect Sunni neighborhoods from Shi'ites and vice versa.
    The name conjures up an image of elegant white houses, swimming pools and golf courses. But these communities are sealed off by concrete walls and sandbags piled 6 feet high and guarded by police and military forces.
    The measures are providing some security, but Iraqis worry that their population is becoming even more divided along sectarian lines.
    Overall rates of violence dropped in the early part of the surge, but April brought a dramatic increase of bombings and the highest casualty rate for U.S. troops this year.
    From March 26 to April 17, 1,131 Iraqi civilians were killed and 1,347 wounded while coalition forces suffered 38 dead and 231 wounded, according to U.S. military statistics. Enemy casualties were posted as 105 killed, 40 wounded and 1,087 detained.
    On April 14, according to figures not normally released to the public, there were 27 bombings and car bombings, 348 civilians killed including 19 homicides, and 392 wounded. There were 59 instances of direct and indirect fire on coalition forces in which 12 were hurt — 11 of whom were affected by nitric acid.
    On April 15, there were 24 bombings and car bombings, seven more found and detonated, 61 civilians killed, 130 wounded, and two coalition soldiers and 16 enemy forces killed.
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