Frustration and Deceit on U.S.-Iraqi Patrol in Mosul

MOSUL, Iraq -- An hour before sunrise, under a star-studded sky, 1st Lt. Michael Baxter's soldiers packed their gear into Bradley Fighting Vehicles, heading out to patrol neighborhoods where fighting insurgents often seems like warring with shadows.

Soldiers took long drags on cigarettes before strapping 40 pounds of armor and gear onto their backs, saying little save for quick back-and-forth on radios. They crammed into the cabins of the tracked, armored vehicles that rattle like flimsy wooden roller-coaster cars and tuned out the sights and sounds of the city.

Mosul, a city in northern Iraq that straddles the Tigris River, has long been a stronghold of Sunni insurgents. When U.S. and Iraqi security forces aggressively fought Sunni extremists in Baghdad and other provinces, insurgents flocked to Mosul in recent months.

The patrols took place on the eve of an offensive against the insurgents that Iraqi officials had vowed to undertake here. The offensive has been dubbed Lion's Roar, and it may cast a spotlight on the readiness and competence of the Iraqi military and police in northern Iraq.

"This is their operation," said Maj. Amanda Emmens-Rossi, a U.S. military spokeswoman in Mosul. "It was conceived and led by the Iraqi military."

U.S. military officials say an offensive here is unlikely to unfold like the 2004 battle of Fallujah, in which U.S. troops fought entrenched insurgent cells with considerable success. And the battle in Mosul is considerably different from recent fights in Baghdad and Basra.

"This is not a Fallujah," said Lt. Col. Christopher Johnson, commander of the 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, which is deployed in eastern Mosul. Gathering intelligence on insurgent networks has been daunting, and insurgents have seldom fought security forces face to face. "They pick the time and place."

'Why Are You Guys All Lying?'

The rear door of the Bradley popped open vertically, making a loud thump as it hit the pavement. Baxter's men moved stealthily and quickly, accustomed to dodging sniper fire from rooftops. They patrolled without Iraqi soldiers on a recent morning because the Iraqis had not arrived in time.

Their first stop was a house where U.S. soldiers last month had detained men they suspected of having links to insurgents. No one was home. Scattered furniture, bagged blankets and a handful of children's shoes suggested the residents had left in a hurry.

His men moved to an adjacent house, where residents seemed startled as the soldiers burst in, moving quickly from room to room. The residents gathered downstairs. Baxter, 28, asked them when their neighbors had left.

"Three days ago," one of the men volunteered.

A woman wearing a blue dress and a white head scarf leaned against a door frame and eyed the soldiers icily as the men of the house sat on the floor.