"We're moving in the right direction," he said. "I didn't think an Iraqi battalion would have its own AO by 1 March. In fact I was very hesitant about it. When you see an Area of Operations, that means something. If you believe words mean things, then that's a level of expectation."
In a sign of AO Iraq's importance to the U.S. strategy, the 6th Brigade received a parade of dignitaries and senior officers last week. They included Lt. Gen. David H. Petraeus, who is responsible for the development of Iraqi security forces and sat for a 30-minute presentation on the brigade's progress.
Soldiers from the Iraqi army's 23rd Battalion patrol in downtown Mosul. One U.S. adviser to the unit said, "We need to slow it down and do it right."
(Steve Fainaru -- The Washington Post)
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"For one of your battalions to be given your own area of responsibility is a tremendous vote of confidence," Petraeus told a group of officers seated around a long table at a base that recently housed American troops.
But the 6th Brigade's performance in Mosul reveals not only how fast the process is moving but how complicated it can be. "The learning curve looks like a lightning bolt," said Marine Capt. Jay Kajs, senior military adviser to the brigade's 24th Battalion.
The 6th Brigade, deployed to Mosul for the January elections, was expected to stay no later than Feb. 15. But shortly after the elections, the unit received new orders. Instead of returning to its base near Baghdad, the brigade's 22nd, 23rd and 24th battalions were assigned to provide security in Mosul, even as American units were leaving. The 22nd and 24th battalions were to share sectors with American units but often work alone or with limited U.S. support. The 23rd was given its own area in what commander Brown acknowledged was an experiment that had many doubters.
Important Territory
AO Iraq is essentially a rectangle drawn in the middle of Mosul, its east and west sides bisected by the Tigris River. The area includes the drab seat of the Nineveh provincial government and Mosul's police headquarters. The 23rd Battalion maintains companies at the provincial hall and the police station and has its headquarters at a forward operating base that previously belonged to the Americans. A team of American advisers is spread across the sector but finds itself with less and less to do.
"I think later people will look back and remember this battalion," said its commander, Lt. Col. Addell Abbas.
U.S. officers said the experiment has been successful so far. Since its arrival in Mosul, the battalion has suffered one combat death; five others have been wounded. Marine Maj. Frank Shelton, the battalion's senior adviser, said the battalion arrested about 140 suspected insurgents in its first 70 days. Despite fears that insurgents would test the battalion, the area appears to have experienced no more insurgent activity than areas of the city controlled by American units.
Still, the 6th Brigade has already replaced two of three battalion commanders while in Mosul. In addition, a company commander was replaced shortly after he hid behind a wall when a small group of insurgents attacked a polling site on election day with grenades and small-arms fire.
Marine 1st Sgt. Michael Moore, one of the 23rd Battalion's advisers, said he thought most of the Iraqi soldiers didn't "really grasp how important that little piece of territory is."
Some residents appeared to greet the Iraqi soldiers warmly during their patrol through downtown Mosul. Others glared. Although the daily patrols are designed to show the Iraqi military's presence and allow the soldiers to interact with the population, the soldiers took great precautions to keep potential threats at bay, pointing their weapons at any car or pedestrian they judged to be too close.
Near the end of the patrol, one Iraqi soldier fired a warning shot over a vehicle with his AK-47 assault rifle, the gunshot ringing through the neighborhood as soldiers hurried down the street.
Waters, the U.S. adviser who was walking near the rear, said he is proud of the Iraqi soldiers and believed that his 13 years as a Marine had led up to this mission. "I feel like this is what I've been chosen to do," he said.
At the same time, he said, if the United States tries to transfer authority at the current pace, "they won't be ready. No way. You can quote that: There's no way."
