Iraq's other disarmament challenge: small arms

Sometimes the Iraqis don't even bother trying to conceal the cache. They dumped a substantial pile of artillery and mortar rounds in an open yard only a few feet behind the school and just a short distance from a densely populated neighborhood.

THE danger of locating such caches in residential areas was dramatically underscored last weekend, when someone fired four flares into a depot east of Baghdad where US forces had consolidated collected weapons.

The flares ignited the stockpile, including at least one Frog-7 missile that launched and detonated in a neighborhood nearby. US officials estimated at least 6 civilians were killed and four injured. Media reports cited higher casualty figures.

The explosions triggered anti-American demonstrations. And US officials believe the flares were fired in an attempt to turn the local population against American troops by causing massive civilian casualties. "For us it is a terrorist act, it is a crime," says Boltz of the flare attack and resulting casualties.

In answer to the protests, US officials say the danger to local residents wasn't created by US forces. "I'm sure the Iraqi people understand that the Baath Party and Saddam Hussein filled the schools, mosques, and hospitals with weapons," says Lt. Col. Joseph Richard, a V Corps spokesman. "It was a blatant disregard for the safety of their own citizens."

US troops are working as fast as possible to move the weapons to more secure locations. "It is just a massive job," Colonel Richard says. But increasingly, the Americans are receiving help from residents who tell them where the weapons are hidden.

Explosions aren't the only danger related to the weapons caches. Many of the caches, including the one in west Baghdad, were looted prior to their discovery by US forces. That means that anti-American forces - and a wide spectrum of others of various political persuasions - had ample opportunity to stock up before hiding in residential areas.

"I call it a Kmart blowout special for anyone who wants a weapon," says Boltz.

The fact that the Iraqi population is armed to the teeth means US forces must always be ready for sniper or bomb attacks, even when they enter a neighborhood for purely humanitarian reasons.

A gunman recently attacked a Humvee driven by a US Army civil-affairs unit working to improve Iraqi health services. He opened fire with an AK-47, spraying the vehicle as it drove on a downtown Baghdad street. Four soldiers were injured. Army officials say the gunman was killed.

After the attack, commanders ordered that any such civil-affairs missions must be accompanied by at least two armored military police Humvees, each with .50-caliber heavy machine guns mounted on the roof. But while the presence of such firepower might deter gunmen, some Army civil-affairs officers are concerned that it might also undercut their efforts to present a friendly face to supportive Iraqi civilians.

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