Posted on 12/25/2005 10:23:34 AM PST by NormsRevenge
MOSUL, Iraq - Lt. Col. John Norris drives through the southeastern corner of Mosul comfortably standing up in the turret of his Stryker armored vehicle, something he rarely did until a few months ago for fear of being hit by a bomb or a bullet. While he is proud of how much security has improved in some neighborhoods, and the fact that President Bush has noticed, he keeps his rifle ready.
"This city still isn't safe," he warns. "But it's a lot better than it was."
Few Iraqi cities have seen such extreme swings between peace and violence since the U.S. invasion in March 2003. Sunni Arab with a large Kurdish minority, Mosul is where Saddam Hussein's sons hid after the U.S. invasion, and where they died.
In November last year, insurgents took control of much of Mosul, drove car bombs into police stations and fought U.S. troops in the streets. But in a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations on Dec. 7, Bush named the city 225 miles northwest of Baghdad as an example of U.S. success in Iraq.
Citing "tremendous gains" in the area, Bush said: "As the Iraqis have grown in strength and ability, they have taken more responsibility for Mosul's security, and coalition forces have moved into a supporting role ... freedom is taking hold in Mosul, and residents are making their voices heard."
Bombings dropped by 48 percent from June to November, according to U.S. figures. For the January election, Mosul's Ninevah province had 88 polling stations. There were 280 for the Dec. 15 vote.
Norris and his 500-soldier unit are responsible for about 450,000 Iraqis — about the population of Albuquerque, N.M. — living in a 476-square-mile area. His patrols take him past layers of the city's recent history — police stations wrecked by car bombs, and new ones under construction.
"We need to start a project to clear away that rubble because that's the wrong kind of reminder of the past," said Norris, 43, of Louisville, Ky., who commands the 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment from Fort Richardson, Alaska.
Iraqi and U.S. officials say a mixture of fighting, politicking, training and praying is pacifying Mosul.
Col. Maher al-Zebari, an Iraqi army battalion commander in a southern suburb of Mosul who took charge this year, says he has made friends with the imam of a mosque where he prays. "The imam told me I didn't need guards anymore; he said he would protect me."
Al-Zebari knows the area well. Norris' headquarters were his when he commanded a military training center in Mosul under Saddam — a fact the two often joke about.
"I can't emphasize enough how different it is now; 12 months ago this area was owned by terrorists," Zebari said.
Norris gives credit to Zebari and the other Iraqis who have become army, police or political leaders in the past year. U.S. intelligence officers huddle weekly with their Iraqi army and police counterparts and Norris holds meetings on security with any civil, religious or security official who shows up.
"It's not as much that we killed people, but that we found the right leaders," Norris said.
The number of police has gone from zero last year to more than 5,000, U.S. officers said. Capt. Bradley Velotta, a company commander from Alexandria, La., also gave credit to U.S. troops, tactics and equipment.
"We came here and we flooded the objective. We were professional, very well equipped and we forced the Iraqi civilians, Iraqi army and Iraqi police and the criminals to do the right thing by denying them the opportunity to do the wrong thing," he said. "We patrolled 24/7."
As Velotta rolls through what was one of the worst neighborhoods, children play soccer in the median of the wide boulevards, no longer fearing roadside bombs.
"They enjoyed the lull," Velotta said. "When someone started to make trouble, they called us in. We get a lot of calls and a lot of people showing up at the meetings now."
A civilian Iraqi-American interpreter with extensive experience in Mosul, who could not be identified for security reasons, said people are disenchanted with the insurgency and more trusting in the U.S. military's promises to withdraw eventually.
U.S. and Iraqi commanders say insurgent leaders pay men several times the average monthly wage to plant roadside bombs, but agree that Mosul's biggest problem is violent crime — kidnapping for ransom and murder for hire.
Unemployment is at 45 percent, and the U.S. has spent $61.5 million on projects in Mosul. Work is under way to reopen textile, pharmaceutical and sugar factories.
Until these bear fruit, U.S. troops need to stay, Velotta and the others agreed.
"We've invested too much human life not to see this through," he added.
Lt. Col. John Norris, commander of the 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, center, discusses politics with Ibrahim Mohammed, left, through an interpreter in Mosul, Iraq on Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2006. While Norris is proud of how much security has improved in some neighborhoods of Mosul, and the fact that President Bush has noticed, he keeps his rifle ready. 'This city still isn't safe,' he warns. 'But it's a lot better than it was.' (AP Photo/Chris Tomlinson)
Iraq: Iraqi Christians attend a Christmas Eve communion at the Grand Virgin Altahira Syrian Church in Mosul.
What is that bonfire in the photo? Zoroastrian worship?
Nope. It's just the Cajuns lighting the way for Papa Noel.
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