Home » Archives » "Scouring Iraq for Enemies, Finding Farmers and Mud"

Scouring Iraq for Enemies, Finding Farmers and Mud

Oct- 9-2004 » Filed Under: 3/2 SBCT

Here's another article from James Glanz of The New York Times describing recent operations south of Baghdad that include elements of the Stryker Brigade. Thanks to Elizabeth for the link.

[Link to Full Article]
By JAMES GLANZ

Al YUSUFIYA, Iraq, Oct. 9 - House-to-house raids in this dangerous swath of territory about 30 miles south of Baghdad are turning up few men of fighting age, leading American commanders to believe that insurgents are melting away ahead of troops who are trying to bring the area under Iraqi control.

At the same time, intelligence here has been sketchy, leading to nighttime raids on what appear to be no more than frightened farm families. And the rural terrain - irrigation-soaked roads that are either too narrow for armored vehicles or too weak to support their weight - partly negate the Americans' vast technological advantage.

In at least one case, the problem with the Iraqi back roads led to a disastrous eight-hour ordeal in which new armored vehicles called Strykers became mired in an irrigated field as they were chasing an insurgent who had just fired mortar shells at them. The attacker escaped. Overnight Friday, they searched two towns just east of the Euphrates River and found that they had been deserted, virtual ghost towns.

Even when the raids have uncovered weapons, the men who must have put them there have not been found. In one instance, several women said all their husbands had died.

"One thing that's remarkable to note is how the enemy has changed," said Capt. Bart Hensler, who commands a Stryker unit that is taking part in the raids. "We're always trying to stay one step ahead of each other, but unfortunately the enemy has the advantage."

Lt. Col. Buck James, a battalion commander in the Stryker Brigade, said that even though melting into the population was a time-honored guerrilla tactic, it might be hurting the insurgency here. In Iraq's macho culture, he said, the insurgents' unwillingness to put up a fight may end up costing them the support of the people who are shielding them now.

Lt. Gen. Thomas F. Metz, the commander of ground forces in Iraq, said he believed that the problem of tracking down fighting-age men here was "unique to this particular piece of the operation" and not true of Iraq as a whole.

The enduring optimism of many American troops was summed up by Capt. Rob Krauer of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, who emphasized the need to train Iraqis to do the house-to-house operations in the long run. "We can win a war this way," he said.

But the day-to-day frustrations were enunciated by Specialist Anthony Ellis, sweating in the belly of a Stryker as it slipped off the side of a tiny lane and lurched to a stop, its four right tires subsiding into an irrigation ditch. "Our man slips through the cracks again," he said, disappointment in his voice.

The raids are part of an operation involving about 2,500 marines and G.I.'s and a much smaller number of Iraqi soldiers, who are trying to take back what have become "no go" areas - places where the Iraqi government and the American-led forces exercise little control - before national elections in January.


Advertisements