[Shadow_Group] Next Fallujah battle: hearts, minds - Iraq

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Specials > Iraq in Transition 
from the November 16, 2004 edition 

Next Fallujah battle: hearts, minds

Marines converted a mosque into a food and medical
distribution center for residents Monday.

By Scott Peterson | Staff writer of The Christian
Science Monitor 

FROM:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1116/p06s01-woiq.html<http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1116/p06s01-woiq.html>
FALLUJAH, IRAQ - In the opening days of the week-old
assault on Fallujah, the Hadra Mohamadiya mosque was a
major battleground. The rocket-propelled grenades used
by insurgents holed up here are still kept in a
corner; the minaret has been hit by US forces
repeatedly. 
But Monday the mosque became a food and medical
distribution center - the first tentative step by US
and Iraqi forces to move this broken ghost town from
war to peace.
 
Some 88 families sent men on foot to collect food and
water, handed out by Iraqi National Guard units after
US civil affairs teams broadcast news of the
distribution.

The danger of the rebels remains: One man was carried
dead to the mosque, after being shot while on his way
by what his friends described as a foreign insurgent
sniper. Elsewhere in Fallujah, a US marine was also
killed by a sniper.

"People were so happy [when they came], because they
need water and food for so many days," says Dr. Adnan
Naji, a medical doctor and captain in the Iraqi armed
forces, who set up a clinic inside the mosque Monday
that treated nearly 20 cases.

"This is a very important day for us, and for Iraqi
and American soldiers, because we let the people go
out," says Dr. Naji.

Senior American commanders speak of a race against
time in which they must begin to restore services and
the faith of the people of Fallujah. After making
rapid progress toward ridding the city of radical
Islamist fighters loyal to Al Qaeda, the challenge now
for the US Marines is to turn military control into
political progress.

"The clock is ticking before civilians start to come
back into the city," Lt. Col. Michael Ramos, chief of
the 1st Battalion 3rd Marines that occupy northeast
Fallujah, told his company commanders. "Let's get
these programs rolling. We're going to exploit some of
those [military] actions with hearts and minds."


Widespread damage

Many of Fallujah's residents fled in the run-up to the
assault. When they are finally allowed to return, they
will come home to a city where many buildings have
been pulverized. Black smoke still rises from fires
throughout the city, and the sound of air and
artillery bombardment still echoes. At least 38 US
soldiers and hundreds of Iraqi and foreign insurgents
dead were killed in the fighting.

With pockets of resistance remaining here, the US
military wants to control the initial humanitarian
work. The Iraqi Red Crescent sent truckloads of food
and medicine for the city, but US forces turned back
the convoy at the main hospital Monday.

Speaking of those civilians who remained, Dr. Naji
said: "Some of them are angry, because of the
destruction, and others are not angry, because they
suffered from the bad situation."

"All are in their houses, fearing the insurgents and
terrorists, who told them they would be shot if they
go out. An old man came up to me, and said: 'Thank
you, thank you [American and Iraqi troops], for saving
us from the insurgents.'"


Clearing the streets

Besides the first food and water distributions, which
were protected by US forces as Iraqi units gave the
handouts, the Imam of the Hadra mosque organized a mix
of Iraqi soldiers and civilian men to remove the
scores of dead from the streets.

US military radio traffic crackled Monday with
requests for 20 boxes of surgical gloves, and 20 boxes
of surgical masks, for those disposing of the dead.

"It's the first step," says Maj. Tim Wattier, of US
Army civil affairs, about the food distribution.
"There's a large project ahead, and this is just the
first step."

Major Wattier was pleased with the cooperation of the
imam of the mosque, which had been listed on US
intelligence maps before the war as a hotbed of
insurgents. Monday, the imam asked the Army to
broadcast his request that anyone with special needs
should come to the mosque.

The scene in the Hadra mosque Monday was among the
busiest in Fallujah, with several families seeking
shelter, a handful of the faithful at prayer, and
Iraqi troops billeted in the wings.

Elderly men in one low-slung corner sat on mattresses,
fingering prayer beads and waiting. Across the
mosque's broad floor, families lined a far wall. Near
the front door, Dr. Naji set up his clinic, using
medicines taken from damaged hospital and clinic
stores.

Children received toys from the Iraqi troops. Outside,
the mangled chassis of cars - burnt beyond recognition
by US forces, which targeted every vehicle to cut the
risk of car bombs - testified to the still-smoldering
conflict.


House to house searches

Shifting toward the tasks of rebuilding and winning
hearts and minds does not mean that the battle for
Fallujah is over. Far from it, in fact, for troops on
the ground. Marine units continue to clear dozens of
houses every day.

Monday, the Raider platoon of the light armored
reconnaissance (LAR) company launched two operations.
In the predawn raid, it fired four rockets to gain
entry to two suspect warehouses, and then a host of
fragmentation grenades to clear it.

After dark, another raid targeted a house believed to
house insurgents.

Elsewhere in the city, US forces renewed airstrikes
and positioned tanks in an effort to clean out the
remaining guerrilla fighters.

"This is the 48 hours, 72 hours for the insurgents to
test and learn new tactics," says Capt. Jer Garcia,
commander of Bravo Company, 1-3 Marines.


Welcome relief for Marines

After a week of fighting in which the number of
civilians on the streets could be counted on one hand,
the scene inside the mosque was a welcome surprise to
marines.

Throughout the fight, most people seen outside have
been armed, and have been engaged.

"I really liked what I saw in there," says Corporal
Victor Gomez, a scout on a light armored vehicle. "I
didn't want to come in here [to Fallujah], shoot a
load of rounds and then leave, as if we'd done our
job. That really set my mind at ease today."


 



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