Patrolling Baghdad's Dora neighborhood, where 'gators' lurk
The predominantly Sunni Arab district has become a byword for lawlessness and mayhem.
from the March 30, 2007 edition
Page 3 of 3
'Full spectrum operations'
Back at the Gator outpost, Maddi talks about his plans to erect a wire fence around the Dora market at a cost of $1.1 million to protect it from insurgent attacks. "This is the little island of hope," says the native of San Bernardino, Calif.
He beams with pride about the fact that some 100 shops out of an estimated 700 have reopened in the market. He hopes more merchants will be encouraged to return once the fence is built.
Economic activity will dissuade residents, especially young men, he says, from becoming "part-time insurgents."
Maddi's outpost also acts as a municipality of sorts in Dora, given the complete absence of municipal services. He has contracted a company to pick up the trash, but workers don't show up regularly for fear of being targeted by insurgents if seen collaborating with US forces.
On a stroll in the market, Maddi is greeted with smiles. Vendors are hawking everything from heaps of minced meat and fresh vegetables to colorful plastic slippers and wedding gowns. Almost everyone pleads with him to rein in the national police.
"You have a moral duty," says a man, who did not wish to give his name, recounting how children had been killed and wounded the day before at the Al Amal (Hope) school by indiscriminate gunfire from the national police. The Iraqi Army confirms that one child was killed and two others wounded in the incident.
Maddi gets word on his radio that men from his company were engaging gunmen in Toama, a particularly violent section of Dora.
On his arrival in the area, a soldier explains to Maddi that their patrol encountered six young men on the street with AK-47s. US soldiers weren't taking any chances.
"We saw six guys with AKs, our gunner lit them up," says the soldier. One man was killed, another wounded.
Maddi and his men advance cautiously. The risk of sniper fire is high. A pair of leather slippers lie next to an overturned motorbike. They follow a trail of blood that leads them to the blood-stained metal gate of one the homes. Other US soldiers are already inside.
The blood trail continues to the roof. There they find the unit's medic wearing blue latex gloves and treating the gunshot wounds of a waif-like man turned on his side with an AK-47 at his feet. He is moaning from pain. Maddi says the wounded gunman will be an invaluable source of intelligence on insurgent activities in the area.
Back at the outpost, a military translator goes through what was found in the dead man's pockets – Syrian business cards and a folded handwritten piece of paper that lists "10 reasons for excommunication" which include being a Shiite and collaborating with non-Muslims.
"This is what I call full spectrum operations," says Maddi.
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