Iraqi Security Has Come Far, With Far to Go

Zain Ali Abdeen Basl, 22, has completed the first part of his training and is anxious to start working. He slips secretly onto the National Guard base from his home on Haifa Street, where many of his neighbors are insurgents or gangsters. "My neighbors threaten the security forces. But I just want to serve my country," he said.

They are bolstered by the guardsmen nearby. Ali Edan, 23, was shot once while on duty, but "I don't want to quit. I want to protect my country," he said. "I will show my children that I was hurt protecting Iraq. I am proud of that."

Another guardsman, who declined to give his name, described a different reality: "There are a lot of people who want to quit. Last month, we got 250,000 Iraqi dinars [about $170]. This month, we got only 210,000 dinars [$145]. Lots of guys are waiting until the end of the month to see what their pay is, and then they will quit. Our life is in danger out there, and no one takes care of us."

The commander of the base, Lt. Col. Heider Abdul Rasul, was in the Iraqi army's special forces for 20 years. He has about 950 soldiers and a list of 1,500 who are waiting to get in, he said.

Rasul insists he has had only 20 to 30 guardsmen quit since he took over seven months ago. But he added: "I've fired 300 soldiers who were too scared. If I have someone who's scared, I don't want him here."

Rasul is enthusiastic about the "excellent training" the Americans are providing, he said. His men typically get 20 days of training here and 13 days at a National Guard boot camp. But some of the techniques they are taught are frustrating, he said. In a recent gunfight with opponents hiding in high-rise apartment buildings, for example, "the coalition forces told us not to shoot where there are women or children. In the old regime, Saddam would have destroyed the whole neighborhood."

The American soldiers at the base have stepped back from giving orders; they now give advice, they say.

"The Iraqis want to stand up for themselves," said 1st Sgt. William W. Tager, who heads 13 U.S. advisers at the base. "I'm pretty surprised they haven't quit like they did before. They have picked up the ball more. They are a little more confident."

Still, he acknowledged, "it's slow. We know where we want to get them, but they aren't there yet."

Special correspondent Bassam Sebti contributed to this report.