Iraqi Unit Brings Calm To a Rebel Stronghold

A platoon of the Iraqi army's 302nd Battalion patrols Baghdad's Haifa district, where the battalion formally took charge early this year. (By Ann Scott Tyson -- The Washington Post)

As insurgents find it harder to place weapons and stage attacks in the neighborhood, they are moving out, he said. "Haifa Street is very quiet."

Capt. Edward Ballanco goes further. Ballanco, who led a U.S. tank company into Baghdad two years ago, now heads a team of American advisers supporting the 302nd. He is one of thousands of U.S. troops now embedded in teams of 25 to 75 with Iraqi battalions to help them build staff and leadership skills and gain quick access to U.S. air and ground backup.

"They have done what our high-technology tanks, Bradleys and soldiers haven't done," he said, "and that's win the war on Haifa Street."

Old Habits Survive

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North of Haifa Street, another Iraqi army battalion, the 305th, is attempting to set up a vehicle checkpoint. Hopping out of his brown Nissan pickup truck, Lt. Salwan Abdul Amil, the platoon leader, sets up parallel roadblocks in a way that puts his men at direct risk from halted cars.

An American adviser, Sgt. 1st Class Joe Williams, pulls Abdul Amil aside. "You don't want all the cars stopped where your security crew is," he suggests. "You got to get a green zone to protect your guys."

Later, Williams sized up the error. "That's pretty basic," said the Odenton, Md., native. "I'd give them probably a B."

Unlike the 302nd Battalion, the 305th is not scheduled to take charge of a sector of Baghdad until June. Although its 920 soldiers are motivated and have mastered some basic skills, the checkpoint incident showed how far they have to go, U.S. and Iraqi officers say.

Even in better units such as the 302nd, old habits survive from the days when Saddam Hussein ruled Iraq, such as nepotism, despotic rule by officers and routine beating of captives. Iraqi soldiers lack restraint in firing weapons, so much so that U.S. officers have given the errant barrages of gunfire a nickname: "the death bloom," which they consider one of the biggest dangers of working with Iraqi forces.

"Their marksmanship is horrendous," said Staff Sgt. Mark Scott of Syracuse, N.Y., a trainer with the 305th. "They'll let a whole magazine fly as soon as they come into contact. One guy shoots, and within five seconds they've all expended all their ammo. One guy looks at the other and says, 'What are we shooting at?' "

For their part, Iraqi soldiers complain that their unarmored trucks and faulty rifles leave them outgunned by insurgents. The 305th has lost dozens of soldiers and undergone 50 percent turnover since it was set up in late 2003. The Iraqi government has no logistics network to provide basic supplies, equipment, ammunition and weapons to Iraqi forces, who frequently rely on the U.S. military for such supplies.

"We are weak when we go outside," said 1st Lt. Saad Wais, 29, a company officer with the 305th. "We don't have armored vehicles, so the explosives will kill us. And we have bad weapons. The AKs shoot 10 rounds and stop."

Many Iraqi soldiers hide their faces with sunglasses and masks while on patrol, for fear of being identified and killed later. But one recently expressed a quiet determination not to give up. "On my flak vest, I write that there is nothing to fear except Allah," Sgt. Hashan Rahma said in a note to a reporter. "Even if it costs our life, we will fight those who bring a bad name for Islam into the world. God help us."