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FUTURE RESTS ON `BATTLE FOR BAGHDAD'

Aug-31-2006 » Filed Under: 172nd SBCT

Link to Full Article
By Patrick J. McDonnell and Louise Roug
Los Angeles Times

BAGHDAD, Iraq - As they patrol the streets of the troubled Ash-Shulah neighborhood, the troops of Charlie Company seek out tormentors and guardians: Sunni Arab insurgents who come to kill in this largely Shiite enclave, and Shiite militiamen who protect residents while doing their killing in adjoining Sunni districts.

This is the sinister grid of today's Baghdad, a capital divided along sectarian lines and bearing little relation to the relatively tolerant metropolis it used to be.

On this morning, the U.S. soldiers found no lurking killers, the enemy remaining in the shadows, well aware of the latest U.S.-led crackdown.

``It's too peaceful,'' said Lt. Col. Jeffrey Kelly, who heads the 1st Battalion of the 17th Infantry Regiment, which includes Charlie Company. ``It's great. It's really nice talking to folks. It's really refreshing. I wish it would stay like that.''

U.S. troops are again on the move in this city of 6 million people. Officials have taken to calling the new operation ``The Battle for Baghdad,'' and they emphasize that the stakes are high.

``The Battle for Baghdad will go a long ways toward determining the future of Iraq and the future of the Middle East,'' said Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, answering questions via e-mail. ``The United States simply cannot achieve its goals of a democratic, stable and secure Iraq if the unacceptable levels of violence that we had in Baghdad in recent months continue.''

About 8,000 additional U.S. soldiers have been in Baghdad since early August, accompanied by 3,000 Iraqi soldiers. [...]

Commanders concede that insurgents and killers may be waiting out the U.S. presence, knowing the troops will soon move on.

``Could some individuals have fled the area? Of course,'' said Col. Michael Shields, commander of the Army's 172nd Stryker Brigade, based in Alaska, whose controversial four-month deployment extension was a foundation of the Baghdad strategy. ``It's certainly a potential reality that many high-level leaders may have moved out of the area before the operation started.''


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