phoenix80
Banned
April 10 2006 | ANTONIO CASTANEDA
American soldiers have again hit the streets of dangerous neighborhoods in western Baghdad that had been handed over to Iraqi forces, trying to keep a lid on sectarian attacks that have raged since the February bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra.
The U.S. military has refocused its mission to confront death squads that have tortured and killed hundreds.
"Iraqi security forces can control large acts, but you can't be everywhere at once. It's like serious crime in the U.S. How do you prevent someone in Houston from going into someone's house?" said Capt. Matt Brown of Eau Claire, Wis.
Fewer attacks are now directed against Americans, soldiers say. At the same time, the number of Iraqis found slain, apparently in tit-for-tat killings by Shiite and Sunni extremists, has sharply increased in western neighborhoods.
Shops are open and pedestrians crowd market streets - but bodies have also steadily appeared during their patrols.
A dull thud was heard in the distance as Tanghe spoke during the patrol Friday through Shula, where support is strong for Shiite militiamen loyal to hardline cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
"It's not going to stop until the people in that house, that house, and that one want it to stop. ... You definitely get the sense that there are some people who don't want it to stop."
"I think a more appropriate analogy might be 'Bleeding Kansas,' where there is a general atmosphere of lawlessness where anything goes and everybody is free to act on any impulse they may have, unless you happen to be in the presence of American or Iraqi security forces," Tanghe said.
"It's going to be violent once we leave. Once we hand it over to the Iraqi security forces, (insurgents) are going to test them. It's going to be bloody," Tanghe said.
(Excerpt) Read more at centredaily.com ...
American soldiers have again hit the streets of dangerous neighborhoods in western Baghdad that had been handed over to Iraqi forces, trying to keep a lid on sectarian attacks that have raged since the February bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra.
The U.S. military has refocused its mission to confront death squads that have tortured and killed hundreds.
"Iraqi security forces can control large acts, but you can't be everywhere at once. It's like serious crime in the U.S. How do you prevent someone in Houston from going into someone's house?" said Capt. Matt Brown of Eau Claire, Wis.
Fewer attacks are now directed against Americans, soldiers say. At the same time, the number of Iraqis found slain, apparently in tit-for-tat killings by Shiite and Sunni extremists, has sharply increased in western neighborhoods.
Shops are open and pedestrians crowd market streets - but bodies have also steadily appeared during their patrols.
A dull thud was heard in the distance as Tanghe spoke during the patrol Friday through Shula, where support is strong for Shiite militiamen loyal to hardline cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
"It's not going to stop until the people in that house, that house, and that one want it to stop. ... You definitely get the sense that there are some people who don't want it to stop."
"I think a more appropriate analogy might be 'Bleeding Kansas,' where there is a general atmosphere of lawlessness where anything goes and everybody is free to act on any impulse they may have, unless you happen to be in the presence of American or Iraqi security forces," Tanghe said.
"It's going to be violent once we leave. Once we hand it over to the Iraqi security forces, (insurgents) are going to test them. It's going to be bloody," Tanghe said.
(Excerpt) Read more at centredaily.com ...
