Barnes Blog
As the conflict in Iraq continues, U.S. News has dispatched Pentagon correspondent Julian E. Barnes for a frontline view.
Barnes, who has periodically reported from Iraq since the war began in 2003, is blogging his impressions for usnews.com.
An Iraqi twist on election-time 'meet and greets'
As the Iraqi election draws nearer, American forces are keeping a close watch on the polling sites for the December 15 vote. On a recent visit to the village of Hor al-Sufor, a small Arab Sunni town west of Kirkuk, soldiers from the 101st Airborne's 1-327 infantry battalion received some hard stares and discovered graffiti near the polling site warning that those residents who go to the polls will be killed.
And so before the break of dawn, the battalion's Charlie Company rolled into town to conduct a "cordon and greet," which the Army considers a politically correct way of saying it encircled the town and then searched all 73 houses in the village.
It was not until nearly the last house searched that the soldiers found what they were looking for: a sniper scope, a ski mask, and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Most disturbing perhaps were the 70 armor-piercing bullets and a list of candidates that the soldiers of the 101st said was stored in the ammunition bag.
Frontline Iraqi soldiers
On the early-morning operation in Hor al-Sufor, Charlie Company brought with them a platoon from the Iraqi Army. The Iraqi jundi, Arabic for soldiers, started out slowly. Lt. Pat Smith, one of the American platoon leaders, repeatedly asked the jundi to come with his soldiers to search the houses. But the Iraqis hung back, either not understanding the order or reluctant to charge ahead.
Charlie Company's third platoon had more luck. The plan had been to have the jundi search each house for weapons after the Americans had cleared the house of people. But the 101st has been trying to teach the jundi the proper technique for clearing houses. So the American platoon decided on the fly to have the Iraqis go first.
"This is the first time we've had them go first," said Staff Sgt. Rusty Lewis. "The only way they are going to learn is by doing." And at every house the platoon's noncommissioned officers urged the Iraqis forward. And with each successfully cleared house, the Iraqis appeared to grow more confident.
When it came to clearing and searching the homes, the jundi were not as disciplined or professional as the Americans. But the Iraqis have had only a week of training on how to clear buildings. And the jundi did remember the basic technique, moving into an uncleared room in formation and quickly searching and moving to the corners.
The jundi based in Huwija, a midsize Arab town to the west of Kirkuk, lag behind other Iraqi Army units. According to the Iraqis, the American military unit that previously oversaw the area did little training beyond marksmanship. In addition, the Iraqi Army soldiers in the Kirkuk area are former Iraqi national guardsmen. Before they were integrated early this year, the Army and ING were two separate forces, and the guardsmen received a shorter local training program rather than the long training program at the national academies. And, as former guardsmen, the Iraqi soldiers in Huwija all come from that town. And when it comes to doing raids or operations in their hometown, many in the force feel conflicted.
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