Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Washington Post
June 1, 2008
Pg. 13
By Ernesto Londono, Washington Post Foreign Service
BAGHDAD, May 31 -- A little over two weeks ago, U.S. troops in Sadr City were on the front lines of fierce, unrelenting urban warfare. But virtually overnight, their main mission has become one of rebuilding portions of the vast, tattered Shiite district and building trust in neighborhoods where many residents despise Americans.
Reaching that point took a fragile cease-fire agreement that called for a limited U.S. role in military operations in Sadr City, a stronghold of militias loyal to anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr; thousands of Iraqi soldiers; and wads of cash.
"If we get Sadr City right and create irreversible momentum, there's no turning back," Brig. Gen. Mike Milano, deputy commander of U.S. forces responsible for Baghdad, said Saturday during a visit to Sadr City.
Restoring order in Sadr City, home to roughly 2 million people, is the U.S. military's top priority in the Iraqi capital. When thousands of Iraqi troops were deployed to the district two weeks ago, meeting virtually no opposition and prompting scores of militia leaders to leave the city or go underground, U.S. officials saw an opportunity to weaken the influence of Sadr and militia leaders.
In a span of three days last week, U.S. soldiers awarded tens of thousands of dollars to merchants who applied for business grants. Additionally, they have paid nearly $85,000 to Iraqis who filed claims for property damaged during the recent clashes.
The payments have prompted a growing number of Sadr City residents to venture out, often surreptitiously, to the small outpost the U.S. military keeps in Sadr City. The visits have yielded good tips and have given the Americans a chance to encourage residents to question their loyalties, U.S. military officials said.
Sadr City residents have long felt neglected by the Iraqi government, and many are deeply suspicious of -- often outright hostile toward -- U.S. troops.
"Sadr filled that void by giving a voice to people who had no voice," said Staff Sgt. Frank Lugo, 36. "Now we're here, and he left the city."
Gone, too, U.S. military officials say, are leaders of militias that this spring fired dozens of powerful rockets into the fortified Green Zone and attacked American troops with small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades.
"We're trying to capitalize on that," said Lt. Col. Brian Eifler, 39, a battalion commander who was recently deployed to Sadr City.
Eifler said residents and merchants have been extorted for years by militiamen, who were long the closest thing to a security force in Sadr City.
U.S. troops succeeded in pacifying most Baghdad neighborhoods last year by deploying thousands of troops and turning former insurgents into paid allies.
But Sadr City remains highly volatile and its residents susceptible to Sadr's whims and edicts.
Following his call, thousands took to the streets after Friday prayers this week in Sadr City and several other Shiite enclaves to protest a deal the Iraqi government is negotiating with U.S. officials to allow American troops to stay in Iraq after December, when the U.N. mandate that permits their presence in the country expires. Sadr has called for an immediate withdrawal.
Milano said the protests were "a good sign that they're willing to gather like that and express grievances. We welcome that."
In recent weeks, the U.S. troops have removed hundreds of truckloads of debris from Sadr City streets. They are rebuilding a portion of Jamila Market, which was apparently hit by an errant mortar shell. And they are trying to improve the area's ailing sewage system and power grid.
U.S. military officials say they hope quick-turnaround projects will allow them to build strong relationships with Sadr City's leaders.
On Saturday, a planned visit to two clinics that U.S. officials hope to restore illustrated their challenges.
One was abandoned, save for a small group of Iraqi soldiers who were using it as temporary living quarters. Damaged medical equipment and boxes of medicine lay in rooms cluttered with garbage and shattered glass.
At the other site, U.S. soldiers found a man in the main office. Through an interpreter, the soldiers told the man they were there to assess his needs and help him rebuild the clinic. They had brought a military surgeon who was willing to work with them, they said. The man and the soldiers exchanged pleasantries during a 15-minute conversation that became awkward toward the end.
"There has been some confusion," a military interpreter finally said. "This is not a clinic. This is a school."
The soldiers shook the man's hand and left.
9 Policemen Killed
A suicide bomber attacked a police checkpoint Saturday afternoon in the town of Hit, west of Baghdad, while the police chief was visiting, the city's mayor, Hikmat Ijbayer al-Gaud, said in a telephone interview. At least nine officers were killed, including the chief, Lt. Col. Khalil al-Nimrawi.
Special correspondents Zaid Sabah in Baghdad and Othman al-Mokhtar in Fallujah contributed to this report.
June 1, 2008
Pg. 13
By Ernesto Londono, Washington Post Foreign Service
BAGHDAD, May 31 -- A little over two weeks ago, U.S. troops in Sadr City were on the front lines of fierce, unrelenting urban warfare. But virtually overnight, their main mission has become one of rebuilding portions of the vast, tattered Shiite district and building trust in neighborhoods where many residents despise Americans.
Reaching that point took a fragile cease-fire agreement that called for a limited U.S. role in military operations in Sadr City, a stronghold of militias loyal to anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr; thousands of Iraqi soldiers; and wads of cash.
"If we get Sadr City right and create irreversible momentum, there's no turning back," Brig. Gen. Mike Milano, deputy commander of U.S. forces responsible for Baghdad, said Saturday during a visit to Sadr City.
Restoring order in Sadr City, home to roughly 2 million people, is the U.S. military's top priority in the Iraqi capital. When thousands of Iraqi troops were deployed to the district two weeks ago, meeting virtually no opposition and prompting scores of militia leaders to leave the city or go underground, U.S. officials saw an opportunity to weaken the influence of Sadr and militia leaders.
In a span of three days last week, U.S. soldiers awarded tens of thousands of dollars to merchants who applied for business grants. Additionally, they have paid nearly $85,000 to Iraqis who filed claims for property damaged during the recent clashes.
The payments have prompted a growing number of Sadr City residents to venture out, often surreptitiously, to the small outpost the U.S. military keeps in Sadr City. The visits have yielded good tips and have given the Americans a chance to encourage residents to question their loyalties, U.S. military officials said.
Sadr City residents have long felt neglected by the Iraqi government, and many are deeply suspicious of -- often outright hostile toward -- U.S. troops.
"Sadr filled that void by giving a voice to people who had no voice," said Staff Sgt. Frank Lugo, 36. "Now we're here, and he left the city."
Gone, too, U.S. military officials say, are leaders of militias that this spring fired dozens of powerful rockets into the fortified Green Zone and attacked American troops with small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades.
"We're trying to capitalize on that," said Lt. Col. Brian Eifler, 39, a battalion commander who was recently deployed to Sadr City.
Eifler said residents and merchants have been extorted for years by militiamen, who were long the closest thing to a security force in Sadr City.
U.S. troops succeeded in pacifying most Baghdad neighborhoods last year by deploying thousands of troops and turning former insurgents into paid allies.
But Sadr City remains highly volatile and its residents susceptible to Sadr's whims and edicts.
Following his call, thousands took to the streets after Friday prayers this week in Sadr City and several other Shiite enclaves to protest a deal the Iraqi government is negotiating with U.S. officials to allow American troops to stay in Iraq after December, when the U.N. mandate that permits their presence in the country expires. Sadr has called for an immediate withdrawal.
Milano said the protests were "a good sign that they're willing to gather like that and express grievances. We welcome that."
In recent weeks, the U.S. troops have removed hundreds of truckloads of debris from Sadr City streets. They are rebuilding a portion of Jamila Market, which was apparently hit by an errant mortar shell. And they are trying to improve the area's ailing sewage system and power grid.
U.S. military officials say they hope quick-turnaround projects will allow them to build strong relationships with Sadr City's leaders.
On Saturday, a planned visit to two clinics that U.S. officials hope to restore illustrated their challenges.
One was abandoned, save for a small group of Iraqi soldiers who were using it as temporary living quarters. Damaged medical equipment and boxes of medicine lay in rooms cluttered with garbage and shattered glass.
At the other site, U.S. soldiers found a man in the main office. Through an interpreter, the soldiers told the man they were there to assess his needs and help him rebuild the clinic. They had brought a military surgeon who was willing to work with them, they said. The man and the soldiers exchanged pleasantries during a 15-minute conversation that became awkward toward the end.
"There has been some confusion," a military interpreter finally said. "This is not a clinic. This is a school."
The soldiers shook the man's hand and left.
9 Policemen Killed
A suicide bomber attacked a police checkpoint Saturday afternoon in the town of Hit, west of Baghdad, while the police chief was visiting, the city's mayor, Hikmat Ijbayer al-Gaud, said in a telephone interview. At least nine officers were killed, including the chief, Lt. Col. Khalil al-Nimrawi.
Special correspondents Zaid Sabah in Baghdad and Othman al-Mokhtar in Fallujah contributed to this report.