Joint Missions Tricky Affairs In Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - U.S. soldiers paced around their new outpost in Sadr City, checking their watches, drinking coffee and waiting for their Iraqi partners.

It was supposed to be a seamless display of Iraqi and American cooperation in the urban fiefdom of Iraq's most powerful Shiite militia. What it became, however, was a wrangle of competing commanders, bruised egos and conflicting priorities.

The troubles in launching just one joint mission late Tuesday pointed to the larger - and long-term - challenges of trying to mesh battle-hardened U.S. forces with untested Iraqi recruits as Baghdad's 3-week-old security crackdown tries to hold the ground it's reclaimed.

``If we get out of here by midnight, I'll call this a success,'' whispered Capt. Josh Taylor, 28, of Florence, Ala., a company commander from the Army's 1st Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment.

Hours before, U.S. soldiers arrived at a former police station being converted to an Iraqi-U.S. compound. U.S. forces first entered the capital's sprawling Sadr City district on Sunday under a carefully scripted deal between military authorities and political allies of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army militia.

The patrol was scheduled to get under way about 7 p.m. - with one of the first stops to see an informant promising to identify Mahdi Army members in hiding.

But there were no Iraqi forces around except for the handful of local policemen permanently stationed at the outpost.

The nearly 60 Americans went upstairs to wait. The Iraqis stayed in a makeshift lounge, nibbling on bread and cheese and watching the reality show ``Pimp My Ride'' on a satellite channel.

Uncle,
This type of operation is just more stupidity from the GQ Generals running the Non-War in Iraq. There is no reason your nephew or any other American needs to be made deliberately vulnerable to attack.. We have already had instances when GIs were gunned down by their "Iraqi Partners"

Separate the Shias and Sunnis...

Separate their Commands

Set up a DMZ between the factions and have their people secure each side of that DMZ..

The GQ Generals are actually fighting what the Iraqi people are doing themselves... Separating. Mixed neighborhoods are vanishing and as housing becomes available people are moving to their own kind Let them, Help them. Establish a DMZ around Sadr City and between the Sunnis and Shia where ever they are Let them run their own neighborhoods and require they not start a big fight with each other.. (That is what you back by US Muscle If an American gets attacked in a particular neighborhood you can investigate and either bring down the local leader and put someone else in place or follow his lead and capture/kill the people he identifies as the culprits..

Get our troops out of the line of fire where ever possible..

Establish a large Base down South to push back against the Iranian Influence in Shiaville.. Keep a smaller presence in Sunniland around Baghdad and sent the rest to secure the borders along Iran and Syria..

(The Kurds have demonstrated this works. They are Muslim and not Killing US Soldiers) They live in relative peace and security.. Just copy the model.. and get the ego out of this.

If it makes our "leaders Happy call them "States" who gives a rip just separate them. Make their leaders responsible for keeping the peace and hammer them if they don't Peace in Iraq not Rocket Science it is simple and straight forward.. They are a tribal people and we will never succeed until we learn that and accept it.. W

I appreciate your sentiments and thoughts on the over all issue. but unfortunatly it is not that simple to carry out what you would like to see.
What I do hope is enough has changed within the IG at this point to indicate they no longer will sit back and play games only favoring the Shia end, and allowing all kinds of graft, and mismanagment to occure.
Many blam GWB and said he had failed. Well it is complicated. Only a few months back had the IG (the really first real Iraqi government elected by Iraqi) finally started to show it is finally ready to accept the things that must be done.
I believe we shall see many things change as this new plan takes effect. And any way one looks at it, the Iraqi really need a few more years from a military view point to become fully independent. I often harp about their need to finally activate a nation wide military HQ/Service/Support system, which has been lacking. They need many large computerized and effecient depots to supply their new army and police with both the personal gear, firearms, vehicles, airsupport etc., to take over all the major operations.
Things are slowly starting to take effect. They need more time.
And unless we abandon the concept of uniting the country, their political processes must have time to mature.
One cannot force things on them that are still foreign and or barely understood.
This new coalition of political parties now forming under Allawi's leadership is one example that holds out hope Iraq can actually morph into a more westernized democratic nation.
It really is a quite bold step. And despite many bad reports out how defecient their army and police under a given brigade, regiment or division. The fact remains some of their units have matured and are really taking the fight to their enemies along side our troops as well as in some fully independent operations.
They need time to change for the better.

When one makes a road, builds a dam, sails the ocean.. in each case the wise Commander battles with the earth or the sea as little as possible..

In each case one works with the terrain to lay a road. Looks for the best rock upon which to build a dam. Sails with the prevailing currents and wind when ever possible.

The wind and current in Iraq are moving people into separate camps, The best rock upon which to build a dam to stop the flow of violence is a series of Demilitarized zones between the antagonists. The best way to build a road to peace is accepting the terrain and landscape as it is and working with it..

Fight both the enemy and the lay of the land (How things really are) and one can never achieve victory.

Redirect the enemies efforts and energy to the wrong place for them (make them miss their target). Work with the land (How things are).

Do the above while acting swiftly and with God's blessing victory is assured.

W

Uncle,
As I referred to before the Shias, Sunnis and the Christian Chaldean/Assyrian minority are all separating on their own as money and housing becomes available..
We need to help that..

You know the place is not monolithic. For example the Christians are heading to the outskirts of Mosul where the Moslems speak a different dialect and have more or less lived in peace with the Christians for a very long time..
While is the Capital the Sunnis especially have been kidnapping the Christians to a tune of about 500,000 a month ransom.

Sader City is the root of the Shia terrorist activity most likely where the Iranian agents hide and run operations.
It has a population of 2 million but is only about 8 square miles.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/sadr-city-imagery1.htm

The Shia have their Militia let them run the place.. the Sunni have their Miltia..

Close off the smaller streets leadiing out of Sadr City with concrete barracades and establish check dual check points. One managed by the Shia and the outside one by the Sunnis. Now everyone who goes in and out will be scrutinized by the other side the Sunnis will look to find the Bombs and Bomb maker of the Shia and vice versa.

Then we make it clear we will depose the leaders of either side if we are attacked in their area and they do not find the attackers or reveal them to us.

This war is being run on ourside by Light Fighters, first person shooters. Big mistake..

Originally this was a Mech Armor conflict now it is an Combat Engineering war. Detecting Vehicle borne mines and land mines are combat engineering tasks and require controlling the roads, the passage of people and material.

Combat Engineers should be the leaders in this mess. Backed by Mech Armor folks who can take the high explosives which are causing somewhere around 80% of the causalties at this time..

Having our youngsters run around in Thin Skinned wheeled Vehicles like Humvee' Strykers and LAVs conducting "Presence Patrols" is assinine..

"Delivery" Service of our Warriors lives to the terrorists.

We get jumped all the time because of that stupid "Presence Patrol" Technique..

There are plenty of ways to do Combat Patrols that are far different and better.

The idea is to hire the Iraqi young men where ever possible and get them involved in building housing or Security Zones along the borders of Syria and Iran, and between the Shia in the North and Sunis in the South.

Control of the roads means Combat Engineering, denying the enemy freedom of movement.

W

What you right is OK with me. But until Iraq can somehow come to terms with it's multi-ethnic cultures/religions and provide a way under the new constitutional law for all to get a fair shake, there is little reason for any major faction to even consider easing up on the opposites.
One can read articles we found posted here as to how Sunni where protecting Shia, and vice versa in parts of al Anbar over the past few months. Now according to your rigid set of rules it would appear they would not be able to help each other out and protect the lesser in a given local area.
What you fail to mention is the fact that in some areas of Iraq there are homogenouse ethnic groups that have lived in peace with one another, inter married etc..
Your set of rules could be viewed by some as a bit to strict.
As for places like Sadr City I have for a year plus strongly suggested cordon of the whole damn place. Every street, ally and canal way that allows one to enter or leave, and let them see what it is like to be isolated with no way of doing anything about it for say a half year.
This could have been done in each of the three or four major Mahdi army HQ areas, e.g. Najaf.
As for the best techniques utilized by the our Army and Marines in SASO operations I am not there nor trained in such skills. I don't want to sound like an armchair general.
But I can surely envision how the patrol MOB's may have to vary and with that a given technique. Some times they use a phase line that may contain spotters and snipers in place to cover daily patrols. If anything looks out of order, someone moves about in and un-orthodox way, e.g. tries to leave an allyway and start digging along some street. Click. They get a 7.65 or 5.56 round in the head. Our patrols don't just walk or ride about without using caution.
Finally what are we supposed to do until the Iraqi Army and Police finally meet all the Class Level 1 requirements? Just sit around in their FOBs.
Anyway one looks at it, our men have to go on patrols, cordon off towns etc., at a Co or Bn level to achieve a desired effect.
Either that. Or do nothing. The Iraqi divisions in most cases still have a way to go. Some are just starting to see the blessing of regular payroll checks. A lot is left to be done.
Lastly I have no problem with your descriptions of how many groups have lived in the past. But again they have not lived in a totally segregated society. Until the AQIR and some of the radical Sunni groups really started to formulate plans as how they could bust Iraqi up, in preperation for a future Caliph to emerge, whatever, Iraq did not have quite the segregated communities some claim as them having.
We can find solid Christian enclaves in the north and along the Turkish border for instance that for a long time where not molested by either the Kurds, Turkistinians, or Arabs.
Likewise Jews had their little enclaves adjoing say a Sunni or Shia area. But they where aloud to live in peace.
The game plan is to restore this mode to Iraq without having to need a dictator.

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