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US Marines remain wary of their Iraqi allies in Fallujah
May 08, 2004 FALLUJAH (AFP) -- US-trained forces have been given a key role in maintaining the peace in Fallujah, but some of the US marines who fought in the powderkeg city do not trust their local allies."Iâve heard rumors and stuff about them playing ball for the other team," said Lance Corporal Stephen Bennett, one of a few dozen marines entrenched at the Fallujah train station. His gun is pointed at the Jolan neighborhood, which until last week was the scene of heavy battles and which now is patrolled by members of the US-trained Iraqi Civil Defense Corps.)ICDC troops and the newly formed Fallujah Brigade have been given responsibility for security in Fallujah in a deal that ended weeks of fighting and let the marines lift an almost month-long siege of the Sunni Muslim city. The US-led coalition said Friday their numbers continued to rise, with 1,750 men from the Fallujah Brigade reporting for work the previous day, as well as some 1,100 ICDC and 750 police. Officers hail the deal as a step in the right direction, but some of the men eye the lightly armed Iraqis with mistrust. "Weâve heard some intel about them doing their job in the daytime and hanging out with the enemy at night," said Bennett. No sh!tting, Sherlock! Navy Corpsman Juan Hernandez, who is deployed with the marines in Fallujah, was more guarded in his assessment of the ICDC. "Theyâre OK, I guess ... Itâs not my job to trust them." A rule to live by. A few hundred meters (yards) away, a group of ICDC soldiers sat in the shade by a row of houses whose bullet-riddled facades bear witness to the ferocity of last monthâs fighting. "Thatâs all they seem to be doing, just chilling," said Private Jeremiah Layman. Coalition officials admit the Iraqi force still has its shortcomings, but they express confidence its men will shape up as they continue working alongside US troops. "Every single day, our security cooperation with the ICDC improves," said Lieutenant Colonel Gregg Olson. "We are going from us supporting them to them supporting themselves with our assistance," said Olson who commands the 2nd Battalion 1st Marines Regiment. The coalition forces say their Iraqi allies will eventually be the ones replacing them when they leave the country. "These guys have not given us any reason to doubt them," said Lieutenant David Myers. Note how itâs a Lieutenant whoâs saying that. Layman, on the other hand, says "they havenât given us any reason to trust them yet." Even commanding officers have admitted that the ICDCâs performance during the battle for Fallujah was dismal. Abandoned boots and uniforms along the railway tracks bear witness to the Iraqi troopsâ hasty flight at the height of the battle. Trace whoâs missing their gear and drum them out of the force. Theyâre just graft waiting to happen. ICDC members readily admit they left Fallujah during the fighting. "I took my family outside the city during the fighting," said ICDC Private Mohammed Turki, 24. Major Ahmed Hammadi admits many of his men had left town, but said things were now different as the troops were better armed -- though his menâs ageing AK-47 assault rifles lack the firepower of the insurgentsâ big guns. Hammadiâs men are based in the main building of the train station, but they have little contact with the marines deployed along the tracks, a few meters away. A few days ago, ICDC Lieutenant Colonel Jubair Mahlaf Hussein thanked Olson for the supplies the marines had brought his men. If the food and water keeps coming, "we can stay here," he told his American counterpart through an interpreter, adding: "and hopefully the gap between us will close. Not a lot of good news. Posted by: Zenster 2004-05-08 |
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