Military flashes more steel in Iraq: Will it work?

"[Iraqi forces] handled themselves very professionally, even with sensitive issues like clearing a mosque that had been held by insurgent forces and was also a weapons cache," says a US officer who accompanied Iraqi troops on several raids in the northern city of Tal Afar. "This is the kind of operation that will increase the local people's support," he said via e-mail.

In Samarra, Iraqi military forces cleared a mosque and minaret, gathered intelligence for raids, and took over police duties while a new local police force was being established, says Lt. Col. David Miller, commander of the 25th Infantry Division's 1-14 infantry battalion, which took part in the operation.

"My experience in Najaf in April compared to Samarra today is a tale of two cities," he says. "In Najaf, the diplomatic/military effort seemed a little out of sync.... In Samarra, it seemed that the interim Iraqi government, US State Department, and coalition were absolutely in sync. I suspect this operation will be a case study in how to do it right - including the transition to Iraqi security forces control."

In contrast to last spring, US forces are following up combat operations with a continuing presence and on-the-spot economic compensation for residents.

In Samarra, for example, a US infantry battalion is now setting up a base inside the city to back up local police and prevent insurgents from returning. In the aftermath of fighting, US troops quickly oversaw repairs to homes and infrastructure. "I had $50,000 dollars in my pocket to immediately pay for damages at the local level," says Colonel Miller. "We occupied a school for a couple days, so we paid to fix the courtyard wall we knocked over and about $5,000 in general upgrades to the school. It sounds small, but it's the kind of thing people see."

In Baqubah, a city of major insurgent attacks and record bombings last summer, US commanders say no offensive to recapture the city is needed. In recent days, US and Iraqi forces have conducted operations to preempt any spike in insurgent activity during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, but have so far "seen very little enemy activity" says Col. Dana Pittard, who commands the 1st Infantry Division's 3rd Brigade that oversees western Diyala Province.

"The bottom line is that the insurgents do not have a 'grip' on Baqubah," says Colonel Pittard. In fact, he says 5 of the province's 12 most wanted insurgent leaders have turned themselves in within the past six weeks, and over 100 insurgents have applied for amnesty.

Violence in Baqubah has dropped sharply and Iraqi government and security forces are taking charge, he continues. Since June, the number of road bombings has dropped 60 percent, and small-arms attacks have fallen 80 percent. Mortar and rocket attacks in Baqubah - once among the highest on US bases in Iraq - are down by half. "The insurgency has lost steam" in Diyala, Pittard says.

American and Iraqi forces have recently stepped up operations in preparation for likely major offensives in Ramadi and Fallujah, which experts consider the heart of the Iraqi insurgency. "Fallujah may be the center of gravity," says Steven Metz of the Strategic Studies Institute at the US Army War College in Carlisle, Pa.

In Ramadi, US Marines backed Iraqi forces in raiding seven mosques suspected of housing insurgents and weapons. In Fallujah, intensifying US airstrikes were coupled last week with a large-scale barrage by ground artillery including 155-millimeter towed howitzers - the biggest attack of its kind for months, US military officials said. Hundreds of Marines set up a "dynamic cordon" around the city in an effort to thwart insurgent attacks during Ramadan.

Such harsh measures are costly, but necessary, military strategists say. "While the government cannot win a counterinsurgency in a purely military realm, potentially it could lose it there," says Mr. Metz.

Page: 1 | 2