Residents warm to U.S. troops after military show of force

St. Louis Post-Dispatch ^ | 4/22/04 | Ron Harris

[saquin]

HUSAYBAH, Iraq - As Marines commemorated the lives of five of their fallen comrades Thursday, some say that they may have turned a corner in their relationship with residents of this troublesome city.

Marines say formerly truculent residents have begun waving and greeting them cordially, just days after some of the fiercest fighting and after Marines conducted harsh door-to-door searches of homes.

Meanwhile, Marines say that Iraqi police and the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps are showing new signs of cooperation after being less than fully willing to help Marines bring order and stability to the region.

"It's a significant change in the right direction," said Capt. Dominique Neal, the new Lima Company commander. "I was surprised. I thought they'd be more fearful than anything. I think the amount of force that we displayed over the past few days definitely has changed their outlook."

Neal was recently promoted to replace Capt. Richard Gannon, the company commander who was slain along with four other Marines Saturday during a day-long battle. Also killed were Cpl. Christopher Gibson, Lcpl. Ruben Valdez., Lcpl. Michael Smith and Lcpl. Gary F. VanLeuvan.

Unlike Fallujah, where Marines have been locked in a standoff with Iraqi insurgents over the past few days, Marines here have never lost control of this western city of 100,000, just 300 yards from the Syrian border.

Following Saturday's fighting, in which 12 Marines were injured and scores of Iraqis were slain, Marines began a fierce, two-day search of homes in the area, usually kicking in the same doors upon which they previously would have knocked.

"One thing that I do know is that the Iraqi people respond to who they think is the strongest," said Neal, 29, of San Francisco. "They saw the velvet glove when we first came in, and then we took off the glove and showed them the iron fist."

Lima Company First Sgt. Daniel Calderon said that during his time with the numerous Marine patrols, he noticed a different attitude from the populace.

"You could tell people were friendlier," said Calderon, of Jacksonville, Fla.

And Sgt. Wilson E. Champion, who had just come back from the most recent patrol, said he saw a similar shift in attitudes.

"The first few days, I think everybody was scared," said Champion, 23, of Jupiter, Fla. "But a lot of patrols are coming back and saying people are starting to be friendly again. Maybe it's because they know that we're not kidding." Iraqi police were reportedly patrolling in areas in which they normally were not seen.

Lima Company Staff Sgt. Matthew St. Pierre was so surprised that he stopped one police officer and asked to see his credentials. "I couldn't believe it," said St. Pierre, of Vallejo, Calif. "Usually these guys are nowhere to be found. This guy had just graduated from our police academy. He was so proud that he ran home and got his diploma to show me."

When Marines found an unexploded roadside bomb during a patrol earlier this week, they set up a perimeter around the device, and to their surprise, members of the police and the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps set up an outer perimeter to help safely guide cars and pedestrians around the site.

Meanwhile, Iraqi police continued to pick up bodies of dead Iraqi insurgents who had been killed in fighting Saturday and Sunday. Many of them had come to the area from Fallujah and Ramadi. The police chief for the region of Al Qaim, an area about the size of Bermuda, said that the bodies of a large number of the Iraqis killed in the fighting were still unclaimed Thursday. Apparently, they were not from the region and did not have relatives or friends in the area, he said.

Many residents, particularly women, children and families, have been fleeing the area recently, concerned about renewed fighting.

Marines, however, said they believe they have struck a blow to the heart of the local insurgency. They said they found dozens of weapons caches and even an Iraqi woman who was hiding Iraqi fighters in her home and providing a safe house for them to store weapons.

"We found at least one terrorist there, and we found AK-47s, and Russian machine guns," Neal said. "Two houses from a mosque, we found another cache, two rocket-propelled grenade launchers and multiple rocket-propelled grenade rounds."

While Marines are pleased with the new reception, they remain wary, Calderon said.

"Every time it calms down, the Marines get a little nervous," he said, "because things have a tendency to brew up again."

[saquin]

Money quote:

"One thing that I do know is that the Iraqi people respond to who they think is the strongest"

Time to do the same in Fallujah.

[ambrose]

they've learned to survive by going with the Biggest Dog of the pack.

[crz]

Dont turn your backs to them. They'll stick you in the back at the first chance.

[mrsmith]

A link to this reporter's (Ron Harris) earlier story on the battle around Husasybah: Insurgent Iraqis kill six Marines

He's not hiding in his hotel in the Green Zone filing reports from what he sees on AlJazeera on the bar TV.

And I like his clear reporting style too.

[Robert_Paulson2]

force.
one of the highest "natural laws" understood by man, and beast.
maybe culturally the only "common" ground and language we can mutually use on islamists to help them understand and get along with the new program.

persuasion is almost always the first choice but doesn't always work so well.
the ball bat almost always works, right away...

[Eric in the Ozarks]

We knew this after WW II. Why'd we forget.

[Viking2002]

It's amazing how one's attitude can change when confronted by a PO'd Marine with a loaded machine gun.....LOL

[shield]

bmp

[Billthedrill]

Let's not forget also that these people have had a layer of police state over them constantly for three decades, and that most of those people are still there. And both sides know we're leaving eventually. We need to whack a lot of bad guys first or that mess will start all over again.

[wingman1]

Bump

[PatrickHenryinVA]

"When the people see a strong horse and a weak horse, they will always choose the strong horse." -- Osama Bin Laden, referring to the Somalia debacle.

[76834]

Nothing like a good vigorous "attitude adjustment" to change one's attitude

[ThermoNuclearWarrior]

Here's an excerpt from article mentioning Capt. Richard Gannon from January 21, 2003. I remember seeing his name mentioned in several articles on Iraq and it was a surprise to see that he was killed last Saturday. This just shows how fast everything can change for someone. It's depressing that anyone has to die fighting these terrorist scumbags. No matter how 'just' a war is it's never easy even though it has to be done.

"Ten-year-old Richard Gannon III said he is accustomed to his father, Capt. Richard Gannon II, being gone on assignment. But the oldest of four siblings admitted he misses the times they spend playing football and baseball. He said he always looks forward to his father coming home and does not dwell on the possibility of war.

"My dad has told me not to be afraid," the youngster said as his father waited in line for vaccinations."

http://www.thedesertsun.com/news/stories/local/1043157294.shtml

[Moonman62]

Beating the crap out of the bad guys is always the best way to win hearts and minds.

[cavtrooper21]

Little story that I remember from many years ago..
A General and several young cavalry officers are watching a training battle when one of the young dandys makes a comment to the effect of; "well, I say, that was deucedly un-sporting of them..."
The grizzled old general politely said nothing as he sat on his horse eating some walnuts.
Another "young gentleman" was then heard to sputter; " Chaps, the enemy commander just isn't playing by the rules!!"
At this point the general reached over and lightly smacked the young man's helmet, saying; "Young man, pay attention."
"There are many ways to win a battle, and many of you have been told stories of brave heros, breaking nerve and the elegant turn of manuver. Sometimes these stories are even true. They are like a three headed calf, for I know that they happen, but I myself have never seen one. If you expect to win battles this way, don't expect a long or very glorious life."
He then pulled a walnut from his pommel bag and held it between his sword scarred fingers and squeezed, cracking the walnut perfectly down the middle exposing the unbroken meat of the nut.
"This is the elegant way to crack a walnut, sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't..."
The general then pulled another nut from the bag and placing it in the palm of his hand, used his other hand to smash it. This left many pieces of broken shell and meat. He turned to the young men, brushed the remains of the walnut from his hand and with a hard gleam in his eye and a edge to his voice said"....but this way ALWAYS works."
"The moral of this tale, my fine boys, is that no one ever lost a battle because they used too much force."

[Steve_Seattle]

Of course, the NYT had a feature today saying exactly the opposite - that even formerly pro-American Iraqis now hate us because of our actions in Fallujah.

[Ohioan]

Do not misunderstand me. I am not going to suggest that there are not honorable people in Iraq, who say what they mean, etc.. On the other hand, this sort of article reminds me of the accounts of life in Cairo during the North African campaign in World War II. When Montgomery seemed to be getting the upper hand, Cairo--still under British control--was very pro-British. When Rommel appeared to be unstoppable, Cairo was anything but a pro-British town. The Union Jacks came out at certain times, disappeared at others.

One needs to take a lot of things with "a grain of salt."

William Flax Return Of The Gods Web Site

[wingman1]

It's time that we looked at ourselves as the strong horse.
Thanks.

[bitt]

wouldn't hurt to write him an e-mail and let him know we like his stuff and pray for his and the Marines' safety...

rharris@post-dispatch.com