US antiguerrilla campaign draws Iraqi ire

The US military conducted a massive weapons raid in residential neighborhoods in this city west of Baghdad, part of a new campaign to cut down on the frequent guerrilla attacks on United States troops and to start the long process of rebuilding.

But there are signs that operations such as this one, code-named "Spartan Scorpion," may be creating as many problems as it solves. Here in Fallujah, lately the hub of anti-US resistance, locals say they are seeing far too few signs of promised reconstruction - and far too many of an outright occupation.

"The U.S army has changed from being a liberator to an offensive occupier," says Fawzi Shafi, editor of a new weekly newspaper here, Sot il-Hurriye, or the Voice of Freedom. Mr. Shafi says that two months ago, he welcomed the US troops; he was no fan of Saddam Hussein. Now, brusque house searches by US troops is earning the US new opponents every day - including Mr. Shafi - and may be feeding a nascent resistance movement.

"Last Friday, they came into my house with about 25 troops. They searched during breakfast and scared the children," he says. "They insulted us by putting us [face-down] on the floor in front of our women."

Moreover, members of an ad-hoc "city congress" contend, the US is relying on the same tribal hierarchy that Saddam Hussein used to control the country - vastly different from the democracy they expected.

The weapons crackdown, code-named "Spartan Scorpion," comes on the heels of "Operation Peninsula Strike," a three-day operation that ended Saturday. The two-pronged offensive is aimed capturing or killing pro-Baathist guerrillas and "terrorists who try to hinder rebuilding efforts," according to a statement released by the US Central Command. The US-led coalition forces declared a two-week long weapons amnesty program that came to an end this weekend. Only a small number of arms were actually turned in: about 700 guns.

Far more Iraqis, it seems, including Shafi's family, put their weapons into hiding.

A few nights later, he complains, gunmen came to his brother's house nearby, took the family's television and money, and slipped off with ease.

"We couldn't do anything because we didn't have weapons with us," he says. "What would Americans do if it happened to them?"

The weapons collection policy is supposed to be aimed at heavier weaponry, as well as getting Iraqis to leave their guns at home. But most Iraqis seem to know someone who fell victim to crime because they were unarmed. Until the security situation improves, most Iraqis say, the weapons' seizures and raids are only making people feel more vulnerable.

Page: 1 | 2