New face for security in Fallujah

Then the American orders changed, and they were told to stay. "When we came back, we saw these men, some armed, running for cover," says Cpl. Eric Snyder of Sacramento, Calif. They had left a calling card on the roof. "There was a flag that said 'Victory,' " says Snyder, peering through binoculars at the street. "They're out there," Snyder says of the insurgents. "For sure."

"I'm sure the enemy sees everything we do, then they decide when they want to shoot," says Lance Cpl. Sterling Bucholz of Los Alamos, N.M., as he hoists a sandbag onto a position.

Still, even in this frontline position, Iraqis appeared to be shifting back to normal life. Men in flowing jalabiyya robes stood around on the street, talking in front of houses pockmarked with fighting. An older man hunkered in the shade of a wall; women stepped out of their family compounds to peer around street corners. Repairmen moved an aluminum ladder from one pole to the next, trying to fix downed lines.

The Marines here are in deliberately defensive positions. Early Tuesday, Stevenson walked his forward positions, reminding gunners at sandbagged positions of the new rules of engagement.

"Anyone who shows hostile action or intent to my forces can be engaged ... you've always got to protect your force," says Lt. Col. Olson, from Cumberland, R.I. "But it's also my mind-set not to jeopardize negotiations going on. So my guys are being prudent ... and they're protecting themselves."

"There is some battle damage in the town," says Colonel Olson. "I saw fighters fighting from private homes, and those homes are battle-damaged."

Most Marine positions have now been withdrawn to allow Iraqi forces to take up security duties and root out, or at least control, anti-US guerrillas.

Among those ordered to stay Tuesday, several groups of sweating marines filled new sandbags with pack shovels.

"We're letting the [Iraqi forces] do their jobs," says Stevenson. "Every day, more and more cars and people are going back. To me, that's a sign of victory. We're not getting shot at."

The message broadcast from mosques is also becoming more favorable, despite initial declarations of victory over US forces. Marines say recent messages are: "Return to your homes, don't take up arms, the fight is over."

Outside the city, in villages - especially one through which Marines often drive - Iraqis wave. "It makes the marines feel good, so they know that not everyone is following when the insurgents say 'rise up,' " says Stevenson.

Marines here remain wary, commanders say. "They can shoot at us, put down their rifle, and walk away, and we can't shoot them," says Snyder of the tighter rules. In recent weeks, in some areas of the city, any presence at all could draw fire from ground forces or AC-130 Spectre gunships. "We don't want to stir the pot of confusion with them," says Snyder.

At this forward position, the solitude was such that marines manning a 240G, the largest caliber machine gun that any single marine can carry, made friends with a bird that hopped about on the gun, and accepted food and water.

US officers hope it will last, and that the Iraqi forces who joined them Tuesday will make a difference. "They will go on the street and tell people: 'We've worked with the Americans, and they are not the barbarians that the insurgents make them out to be,'" says Stevenson. "For us, it's a win-win situation."

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