Posted on 07/03/2004 1:47:02 PM PDT by Indy Pendance
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Shemaa Abdul-Ghani's Iraqi National Guard unit conducted its first raid Saturday, giving her a chance to use her combat skills for the first time.
U.S. troops took a back seat during the raid, giving the Iraqis a chance to take control of their future under a sovereign flag.
With an assault rifle slung across her chest and more than 100 rounds of extra ammunition, Abdul-Ghani was one of the first soldiers into a house where a suspected guerrilla lived. Her unit - D Company, 303rd Iraqi National Guard Battalion - was checking a report that a cache of mortars was hidden inside the home.
After the coalition turned over sovereignty to the interim Iraqi government on June 28, American and Iraqi officials started putting an Iraqi face on counterinsurgency operations to win support. Iraqis do most of the work on the joint raids, although U.S. troops still supply heavy firepower to back up the poorly equipped Iraqi troops.
The higher profile carries risks. Seven Iraqi guard soldiers were killed at a checkpoint Saturday near Mahmudiyah, 20 miles south of Baghdad, said Dawoud Hussein, a local hospital director. Five other soldiers were injured in the attack, he said.
Guard members also regularly receive death threats from anti-American forces, and some have been assassinated. While a few have quit, most have stayed on the job, wanting to support the new government and collect a badly needed paycheck.
D Company's raid in Baghdad went peacefully and the advantage of having Iraqi troops take the lead was clear.
Instead of U.S. soldiers banging on the door and trying to communicate through an interpreter, the Iraqi troops easily gained entry to the house. Abdul-Ghani, 26, took the women and children in a back room while her Iraqi comrades searched the house.
"When they saw me, the family said, 'Thank God, you will search us,'" Abdul-Ghani said. "They asked me if I was Iraqi or American and I said I was Iraqi and they said, 'Thank God.'"
As Iraqi troops frisked them for weapons, the men in the house smiled and told jokes. When a toddler began crying, one of the soldiers picked the little boy up and carried him around, instantly calming him, something an Iraqi parent would never allow a U.S. soldier to do.
The Iraqi commander eventually found the brother of their suspect. Capt. Mohammed Wahbi al-Satr convinced the man to call his brother and have him come to the house.
When he arrived, U.S. troops tested him for traces of explosives and after talking to him decided to release him.
Back at the base, U.S. and Iraqi commanders went over their performance.
"When we said there was nothing in the house, I saw soldiers relax," al-Satr told the platoon sergeant and squad leaders. "This is bad, they shouldn't relax until the mission is over. We can still be attacked."
Most of the Iraqi corporals and sergeants agreed and openly discussed where else they could have done better - an important part of U.S. military methodology, but one discouraged under the old regime, said Lt. Col. Timothy Vuono, commander of the 3rd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, which is training D Company.
"This is a big change for them to admit there were mistakes," Vuono said. "Under the old system you would never admit mistakes, because if you did, you were gone."
Al-Satr and Vuono gave the Iraqi troops high marks for treating the civilians well during the search, another value American troops are trying to instill.
"We treated people inside the house well, and the family appreciated it," al-Satr said. "If we go in the hard way, they would have been scared, but we went in the soft way, which was good and they cooperated with us."
Abdul-Ghani said she was a little scared on her first mission, but she enjoyed it and planned to remain in the national guard.
"I like wearing the uniform and carrying the assault rifle," she said. "It is dangerous, but I like a little danger sometimes. I'm adventurous."
I'm surprised to read they have female soldiers. I didn't think that was compatible with their structured society. Regardless of nationality I'd hate to have any armed female soldier after me as I think they'd be relentless.
mc
Especially after the way they were treated. I'll bet they're going to make great soldiers and have no mercy on their torturers.
Beleive it or not, Iraq was one of the Middle East's most progressive countries before the Iran Iraq war took its toll on the country.
U.S. Major Trish Morris of the 360th Airborne from South Carolina (L) kisses female Iraqi trainee army officer Maha Bashar Karim, during her graduation ceremony following ten weeks of training in the Jordanian city of Zarqa, June 17, 2004. Some 850 Iraqi army officers consisting of Kurds, Sunnis and Shi'ites, graduated in Jordan on Thursday after receiving training on army role in internal security, democracy reinforcement and fighting terrorism. REUTERS/Ali Jarekji
Iraqi National Guard soldiers prepare to enter a home during a weapons raid in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, July 3, 2004. For the first time, the 303rd Iraqi National Guard Battalion led the raid, supported by U.S. Army 1st Cavalry soldiers. (AP Photo/Jim MacMillan)
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