| Page 2 of 3 < > |
Learning to Live With the Mahdi Army
Hints of the Mahdi Army
|
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
The convoy pulled up to al-Thawra police station, a beige building in a walled-off complex that houses three Sadr City police stations responsible for different districts. Trash littered the dirt lot.
In the office of the station commander, Col. Saad Abbas Hussein, the soldiers sipped tea from tiny glasses. Above them were new whiteboards listing patrols and the station's chain of command, the results of some of the Americans' training.
As he sprayed air freshener in the room, a distracted Hussein told Mixon he had had no problems with the militia. Col. Salim Muhsin, the station's liaison to the Interior Ministry, piped up from the corner, saying Sadr had ordered his fighters to avoid the Americans.
"We received that information," Mixon said. "But we are still seeing some lower-level activity, possibly rogue or outside, that might be Mahdi militia, still affecting the coalition forces."
No, Muhsin continued, the only problem is that Sunni insurgents slaughter families every day -- in other neighborhoods.
"They all say that," Mixon said after the meeting.
The soldiers said they do not know which police officers are involved with the Mahdi Army. Their Iraqi interpreters, who also serve as cultural barometers, tell the soldiers that all the police officers are.
"That's why they're still alive," said interpreter "Adam" Abdul Kareem, 29, who uses a false first name and covers his face to conceal his identity while working.
Outside, the U.S. soldiers asked some policemen to accompany them on a patrol. The Iraqis initially refused, saying they would be kidnapped by the Mahdi Army if seen with the Americans. Mixon insisted. So they tagged along in a beat-up SUV -- placed second in the convoy, Hansen explained, so they could not lead the Americans into a trap.
On a quiet residential street, a flock of giddy children swarmed as the Americans and Iraqis passed out T-shirts and Iraqi flags. "Sadr, no," one said in English, pointing off in the distance. "Iran."
"This area good," said an old man with a white beard. "All area with the government."
Later, after the blasts interrupted their second meeting, the squad checked out a possible mortar launch site identified by U.S. soldiers. The site was well inside Sadr City.
