U.S. Unit Shoulders Burden At Police Station in Baqubah

Spec. Richard Dollarhide of the U.S. 1st Cavalry Division scans for insurgents from the rooftop bunker of an Iraqi police station in Baqubah. The post comes under fire almost every day, and U.S. forces take the lead in fighting back. (Photos By Bill Murphy Jr. -- The Washington Post)

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"The best bet is to pull back," said Sgt. Jerry White, 26, of Bell, Fla. "Sending more troops -- it's not working. You're sending more targets. That's all you're doing."

"They're going to have their civil war, and all we're doing is just being in the middle of it," Alicea said.

Frustration and Death

"Everybody gets frustrated. Who the hell wouldn't be?" Lt. Col. Mo Goins, commander of the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, said later. "We're all Type A personalities, Westerners, and we want it done right away."

"The soldiers see their small part of the war," said Col. David Sutherland, commander of 3rd Brigade, the 4,700-strong unit that includes the 1-12 Cavalry and other battalions, and has the entire province of Diyala -- home to about 1.6 million people -- as its area of operations. "We've been here for five months. The soldiers get frustrated. They think all they're doing is going out and getting hit with" improvised explosive devices.

"We've got hot spots," he said. Overall, he said, Baqubah has gotten more violent, but things have improved in the rest of the province. Since Feb. 4, nine U.S. soldiers have been killed in and around Baqubah.

'We're Under Attack'

At 9:46 a.m. on the second day of the soldiers' three-day shift, small-arms fire erupted outside.

"Shooting from the south. They do that," said Spec. Patrick Pena, 24, of Midland, Tex.

Long bursts of automatic-weapons fire followed. Outside, bullets hit a damaged vehicle in front of the building. Not far away, a U.S. soldier refueling the ERF's generator took cover. It was unclear whether any of the Iraqi police officers were returning fire.

Two loud thumps echoed.

"Mortar rounds!" someone yelled.

"Yeah, mortars. Small arms," Brinkley agreed. "I think we're under attack."

The soldiers erupted in laughter.