Mosul Makes Gains Against the Chaos

After U.S. armored vehicles had sealed off the ends of a two-lane street in the Jamiilah Circle neighborhood, American troops fanned out with practiced speed, carefully sweeping the rooftops, windows and doorways on both sides of the road with the muzzles of their rifles. The Iraqis milled around in the middle of the street, chatting, while curious residents watched from the sidewalk.

"We shouldn't be standing around like this," said 1st Lt. Devin Hammond, the leader of 1st Platoon, A Company of the 2-1 Infantry. He gently shepherded the Iraqi troops into a nearby courtyard.

As the mission wore on, the Americans started to give their partners tips: Don't walk around with your rifle's safety off. When you're leaning back against a wall to check the other side of the street, leave a small space so your comrades can walk behind you instead of having to cross in front of your weapon. When you enter a house, check it for weapons before you strike up a long conversation with the owner.

"We had to coach them a little bit, at the beginning," said Hammond, of Staunton, Va.

The Americans said the Iraqi troops had been friendly and eager to learn but could do better at taking the initiative.

"They needed someone to go in with them" into the houses on the street, said Sgt. Christopher Haggett of Montpelier, Vt. "I think their biggest problem is they want to be with us. We're like their big brother. They look up to us."

Another problem is the overrepresentation of Kurds in units deployed in this predominantly Arab city. The troops Hammond's platoon was working with were all Kurds from Irbil, east of Mosul, and from Dahuk province to the north -- both located in the Kurds' largely independent region. Few spoke Arabic, and many had Kurdish flags sewn on the shoulders of their camouflage uniforms, even though the practice is against regulations.

Although ethnic rivalry in Mosul has been a problem in the past -- many Arabs were upset in 2003 when, during the U.S. invasion, Kurdish militiamen entered the city -- the Iraqi soldiers, both Kurds and Arabs, say they have put aside their differences.

"What I have told my soldiers is that it does not matter who are or where you're from, as long as you protect this city," Lt. Col. Amar Abdullah, the Arab commander of the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Brigade of the Iraqi army's 2nd Division, said after his unit formally took control of a sector of Mosul in a ceremony last week.

"Most people in Mosul, in general, they respect us," said Hazim Mohammed Khorsheed, a Kurdish soldier working with Hammond's unit. "Some don't respect us, so we shouldn't respect them."

As Khorsheed and his fellow soldiers picked their way through the street, rapping on gates and doors, they found that most residents agreed that the security situation had improved. Yet they remained pessimistic about the future.

"We always hear shooting and stuff like that," said Abdullah Abbas, standing in his pharmaceuticals shop, where boxes of drugs shipped in from India and elsewhere were stacked high in every room. "We hear that the Iraqi forces are getting better and better. Lately, I think things are getting a little better, but not 100 percent."