US sees tide turn on Iraq insurgents

Troops say Hussein's capture deprived local insurgents of their motivation. "Their sails may have been full, but with Saddam captured, the wind dropped,'' says Russell.

Of the 55 officials and Hussein aides on the original "deck of cards" most-wanted list, only 13 are still at large. On Saturday, the US announced $1 million rewards for information leading to the arrest of 12 of the remaining fugitives.

The most senior official still at large, Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri, has a $10 million price on his head. Mr. Duri has been described by some US officials as a key figure in the insurgency, though most Iraqis find this hard to believe. Even under Hussein, when jokes about the president were dangerous, his No. 2 was a frequent figure of fun to Iraqis. Most people here saw him as a bumbling sycophant.

But one man whose importance to the insurgency is beyond doubt was No. 4 on the list, Abid Hamid Mahmoud al-Tikriti, a Hussein cousin who ran the Special Security Organization, the top-tier in Hussein's sprawling security apparatus dedicated both to protecting to Baath leaders and to spying on them.

Mr. Tikriti's arrest last June was, in hindsight, the beginning of the end for the network of insurgents in and around Tikrit, says Russell. "When we captured No. 4 it gave us some key documents and information,'' he says.

Over time, information from that arrest led not only to a key bodyguard for Hussein who was "the big break" on the trail to the dictator's capture, says Russell, but to many lesser figures, particularly the mid-level moneymen and go-betweens that earlier kept the attacks humming.

Russell says over $10 million in cash has been seized in recent months, even as the asking price for an attack on coalition forces has surged, according to locals. He says the relatively large pool of men willing to attack US forces in the area a few months ago has dwindled as tough tactics have killed many, with few losses on his side. Russell's battalion has lost five men since the invasion.

Local cooperation also is rising, with some tribal leaders giving Russell and others insights on the clan ties that have been key to local insurgency.

The view among soldiers in the 1st Battalion's Charlie Company, who conduct daily foot-patrols in Tikrit, is similar. "We know there are still people out there who want to do us harm,'' says Spc. Byron Foster, from Simms, Texas. "But it's been a week since I've been shot at on a patrol - I can't think of another period as quiet."

Still, the soldiers aren't relaxing. Another says: "I think we're going to be dealing with occasional attacks until the day we leave."

Page: 1 | 2