Golden Dragons

Dragons hunt AQI Leaders

Golden Dragons Takes Pride in Quest: Capturing Al-Qaeda in Iraq Leaders

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Story by Ken Griffin
Posted on 11.24.2008 at 05:47AM

By Ken Griffin
2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division

TARMIYAH, Iraq — A masked, nervous man walked into the joint security station, scared for his life, with the kind of information a commander might pray for: he knew where an al Qaeda in Iraq leader was hiding – and was willing to tell.

Abu Ghazwan, the al-Qaeda in Iraq northern belt emir, had been dead nearly two weeks, and his subordinates were scrambling to fill his shoes while Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment “Golden Dragons” tracked their nearly every move and prepared to kill or capture anyone who stepped up.

“These guys are smart. They’re wily, and they’re good at hiding … but they can’t hide indefinitely,” said Capt. Kurt Pressell, a Simone, Ohio, native, who commands Company A, 1-14th Inf. Regt., 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.

And he should know. Thanks to informants like the mystery Iraqi citizen and other intelligence methods, his unit has made life a living hell for the extremists. Company A alone has captured 265 extremists since arriving in December. Tarmiyah used to be an extremist stronghold, but AQI is finding more and more that they’re unwelcome – as evidenced by the growing number of citizens coming forward with information.

Ali, a local Sons of Iraq leader, sat with the informant and unit leaders. He was part of mass celebrations in the streets of Tarmiyah after a member of his SoI group shot and killed Ghazwan Nov. 6.

“It’s true – nobody here supports AQI anymore,” Ali said.

With Ghazwan dead, Ali now poured over maps and contributed last-minute details with the informant as he prepared for an operation to capture or kill Ghazwan’s likely successor.

In the tactical operations center, the room buzzed with excitement. Radios relayed priority messages around the room as Soldiers put on their body armor and slung weapons. A few Soldiers double checked ammo and made last minute adjustments. Whoops and hollers rose above the chatter as they prepared themselves mentally and physically for what they thought would be an exciting night.

“If you haven’t seen the plan yet, we’re moving down these two paths simultaneously to the Tigris River. There used to be a bunker here, and we believe it’s active again,” said 1st Sgt. David Dougherty, the unit’s senior enlisted member, as he pointed and dragged his finger along a map for a couple stragglers.

After explaining a few more details, the plan was in motion. Stryker vehicles in a single column sped through the dark toward the objective. Once there, squads consolidated and moved stealthily down the pitch-black trails while looking through the green glow of night-vision goggles. The assault force moved swiftly but deliberately, cautious of booby traps. The Soldiers saw everything in great detail through the trademark green glow of night vision – a serious advantage on dark nights like this one.

A few short minutes into the movement, Pressell received a call on the radio.

“We’re on the objective. No sign yet. Still searching. Over,” the voice said.

The rest of the tactical column moved up as Soldiers in front poked around in bushes, brushed aside bundles of palm fronds and searched for weapons and bad guys. At the river, they looked for fresh tracks and scanned the horizon for any movement.

“He could be there six of seven nights, and you go on the one night he isn’t there,” Pressell later explained.

Fortunately, at the moment the Soldiers concluded no one was there, new intelligence came to light: the extremist they suspected would take Ghazwan’s place was in a house less than a kilometer away. The source, along for the ride and still masked, confirmed this was a possibility.

Shortly after that, the unit had surrounded their new objective. An interpreter shouted over a bullhorn in animated Arabic. He informed neighbors to stay in their houses and demanded anyone inside the surrounded house exit immediately.

“Someone’s coming out! They’re coming out!” another Soldier yelled.

The unit had showed great restraint – and it paid off. Instead of an extremist, three women with their children exited the house.

The women, covered in hibayas and blankets, were hurried to an area outside the perimeter by Sgt. Amber Gil, a female member of the team. Gil, a Dallas native, is an armorer by trade and is attached to Company A to search and interact with females.

With the civilians out of the house, Pressell considered lethal options but again decided to show restraint. After a quick conference with his leaders, he sent in a robot from the Explosives Ordnance Disposal Team.

“We’ve had three suicide bomber incidents in the city – two suicide vests and a moped. Every mission we go on, we take SVEST mitigation very seriously,” Pressell explained, after the robot, followed by Soldiers, cleared the house. “I really felt he was in there – I know he was at some point.”

So far the unit had been unlucky but that was about to change.

“Okay it has to be this third house,” a few of the Soldiers agreed. “He’s in there – definitely.”

With momentum on their side, a squad stacked on the house but an older man quickly exited. He told an interpreter his son was upstairs. It turned out it wasn’t the AQI member they were looking for, but, as luck would have it, he was a couple rungs below in the rank structure.

The informant confirmed the man’s identity and his involvement in extremist activities. A sensitive site search by the Soldiers indeed turned up contraband, and that was enough for the commander.

“Alright, get him flex cuffed. Get him in the Stryker,” Pressel said over the radio.

Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Wessling, a platoon sergeant, got the call and relayed the order to his men.

“I’ve been here before. I know this is a bad guy, and we’ve been looking for him,” Wessling said. “But this is my backyard. They can’t hide from me.”

The suspect and contraband were then on their way to an undisclosed location, and at about 5 a.m., the Soldiers were finally on their way back to base to get some rest.

But with their main objective still on the loose, they could easily expect to do it all over again tomorrow. As one leader is killed or removed, another eventually steps up to take his place – although each replacement is generally less skilled and less respected, according to the unit’s leadership.

“Nobody wants to step up because there is no sanctuary,” concluded Lt. Col. Tom Boccardi, 1-14th Inf. Regt.’s commander.

Dragons build schools

GoI invests in eduction

Multi-National Division – Baghdad PAO

CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers from 1st Battalion 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, along with member of the embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team –Baghdad 5, attached to 2nd SBCT, toured three schools and helped open another in Tarmiyah, northwest of Baghdad, Oct. 9.

 

The schools were in various stages of progress; from the very beginning phases to a completed building, which is ready for children to learn.

 

“There is nothing more fulfilling for me than to build a school for children,” said 1st Lt. Erik Peterson, Civil Military Operations officer, 1st Bn. 14th Inf. Regt.

 

Peterson joined the school building projects in February and said the Tarmiyah Qada Council has put in a lot of work to make progress possible.

 

“They have been there every step of the way,” he said. “Everything that goes into construction was done by Iraqi engineers. All Americans did was handle a little bit of paperwork.”

Malcom Phelps, and senior education advisor for the ePRT agreed.

“The Iraqi people are stepping up to their responsibilities,” he said. “It has been slow, but it is a growing process."

 

Progress on some of these schools has taken a long time and seen the rise and fall of violence in the area.

 

One of the schools toured, the Quadasiyah School, was in the middle of violence for years.

 

Renovations on the school began approximately three years ago, but were halted due to al-Qaeda in Iraq taking over the building. When that happened progress stopped, Peterson said.

 

“Now that al Qaeda is basically gone from this area we can finish this project,” he said.

 

The school is scheduled for opening this year.

 

These four schools were the first schools visited by Phelps, when he arrived in April of last year.

 

Though the building is near completion, the school still awaits furniture and books. This school is also scheduled for opening this year.

 

“They see the progress being made and they want to be a part of it,” he said. “It’s symbolic as well as real progress they can see.”

 

The Barada School is now open and ready to provide children in the area with the opportunity to learn, The Soldiers and residents celebrated its opening and Phelps recognizes it as an example of the great work the Iraqi people are doing and step in the right direction.

Dragons effect transition

Handover of Sunni groups a slow process

                        

Americans retain some control over ‘Sons of Iraq’

By James Warden, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Saturday, October 11, 2008                            

TAJI, Iraq — Sheikh Abid Mohammad Hussein stood with his country’s flag in his hands Tuesday, just below a stage on the Iraqi side of Camp Taji.

The "Sons of Iraq" leader turned and handed the flag to Col. Todd McCaffrey, commander of the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division. McCaffrey then passed the flag to an Iraqi army commander. The display — intentionally echoing the American military’s change of command ceremonies — symbolized the recent transition of the "Sons of Iraq" from American control to the Iraqi government.

In this case, though, that authority may be more symbolic than actual. While the Iraqi government will be footing the bill for the "Sons of Iraq," American units around Taji will retain operational control of the groups until they feel the Iraqis are ready to manage them on their own.

Multi-National Division — Baghdad turned over control of nearly 55,000 "Sons of Iraq" members to the Iraqi government starting Oct. 1. The decision was part of a push to give the Iraqis more responsibility for their own communities and to encourage cooperation between the government and a program that it has often criticized.

Yet the Taji arrangement suggests that transition is far from complete.

Partly this is because the Americans still control the battlefield around Taji, said Lt. Col. Tom Boccardi, commander of 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, a subunit of the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team. American units are taking the lead in the area, with Iraqi units in support.

"Some of them are very capable, but they do not have the things they need," Boccardi said. "Quite simply, we are still in tactical control of the environment."

The Shiite government also has a history of conflict with "Sons of Iraq" groups, which rose out of a Sunni movement to make peace with the Americans, throw out insurgents and secure their own communities. Many politicians disparage the groups as little more than militias, and most American commanders concede that the program simply hired away poor, restless men who form the traditional fodder for insurgent recruiters.

The Iraqi government has already generated controversy by arresting some "Sons of Iraq" leaders.

The precarious nature of Sunni participation in the political process could allow any mismanagement of the groups to threaten Iraq’s fragile peace.

The government could disintegrate the groups if it had full control of them, Boccardi said. It’s harder for them to do that if the Americans retain some authority.

They’ve established "redlines" to create checks and balances on what the Iraqis can do to the "Sons of Iraq," he said. The government can’t target group leaders. They can’t arrest them without a valid warrant, which must have been seen by a judge. They must have objective evidence against the leader, not just a neighbor nursing a grudge.

The 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry, working with "Sons of Iraq" leaders, also determines where the groups’ checkpoints will be — a point Boccardi reiterated when one leader told him Wednesday that he worried the Iraqi army would push his checkpoints outside Tarmiyah, a city north of Taji.

"The tactical deployment of the‘‘Sons of Iraq’ is an American responsibility,""Boccardi said. "The Iraqi army cannot push you out of town.""

The Iraqis feel they’re in control, which was evident during the speeches they made at Tuesday’s transition ceremony.

"Coalition forces are not responsible any more for the ‘Sons of Iraq,’ " one officer said, reading a letter from the prime minister’s office. "If you need anything, go to the Iraqi army, and they’re going to help you."

American comments were more carefully worded, though: "We have stood beside you in the past, we stand beside you today, and we will stand beside you (during the transition)," McCaffrey said.

Sheikhs who lead the groups used the day’s ceremonies to make demands from their ostensible overseers, but they were vague about their new relationship with the Americans.

Hussein, one of the leading sheikhs in the area, said it would be up to the U.S. to determine its new relationship with the "Sons of Iraq."

Asked whether he’d go to the Iraqis or the Americans for help, Hussein demurred.

"It doesn’t matter," he said. "We don’t have to cut our relationships with friendly sides."

 

Dragons provide essential services

By Sgt. Whitney Houston
2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division

CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Reconstruction projects throughout the region of Tarmiyah, located northwest of Baghdad, are providing many opportunities for residents to move forward and begin living better lives.

Due to conflicts that have littered the region over the years, the citizens of Tarmiyah are lacking many essential services such as schools, potable water, sewers and banks. However, reconstruction projects are in progress to help restore infrastructure.

“The bottom line is that increased capacity is what every Iraqi needs right now,” said 1st Lt. Eric Peterson, native of Littleton, Colo., and platoon leader assigned to Company A, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment “Golden Dragons,” 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team “Warrior,” 25th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad. “Their infrastructure has decayed a little bit because of conflict over the years, so we’re trying to counteract those effects by really getting into these reconstruction projects as heavy and as hard as we can to give them this capacity.”

A major focus has been placed on education buildings first as school will begin within the first weeks of September.

“We have 17 school projects going on right now,” Peterson said. So we’re hustling right now to finish up the school projects, then we’ll get more involved with services like water, electricity and sewage.”

Funding for the reconstruction effort is provided through the Iraqi Commanders Emergency Relief Program. Using this program allows the local government to get money for projects quickly and efficiently. It also allows them to help in the planning process, hire local contractors and mitigate corruption. Coalition forces gather weekly with local government officials to ensure everyone is on the same sheet of music and ensure the project is going smoothly, Peterson explained.

Though projects are nearing completion, security is still a key issue on residents’ minds. The Iraqi police are instrumental in ensuring the security of the project sites and residents.

“The security situation is getting better in Tarmiyah,” said Mohammad Jassim Al Mashadani, Tarmiyah Qada leader. “We have meetings often with the police to ensure that security constantly improves, because security is directly correlated with the project’s success.”

As good as security is getting, it is still not perfect. Recent suicide vest improvised explosive device attacks killed one U.S. Soldier, local residents and wounded a prominent Sons of Iraq (Abna al-Iraq ) leader, who lost his right leg from the blast but managed to get away with his life, Peterson explained.

Despite these attacks, spirits are high due to the benefits of reconstruction.

“The people are very happy about the projects,” said Jassim. “This year, we’ve had a lot of projects which have helped us very much. Coalition forces and the (government of Iraq) have enabled us to give our people jobs, and a decrease in terrorism shows the people are backing the projects. God willing, our city will continue to improve.” 

Pictures from Tarmiyah

Reporting from Tarmiyah for The Long War Journal, Nathan Webster filed these pictures of Alpha Company.

And writes:

Soldiers with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion/14th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division interacted with Iraqis in Tarmiyah, Iraq, in a variety of settings during the month of June. The company commander engaged the local tribal leader at dinner. Enlisted soldiers talked to Sons of Iraq members during patrols of their citywide positions, but still searched and questioned those Iraqis they encountered in the less-stable countryside. Most of their days are not spent on typical infantry missions, but as one Alpha Company platoon sergeant put it, “infantrymen haven’t been doing typical infantrymen’s jobs for a long time.”

The area has been free of active combat for some time. Yet, insurgent forces still target the more vulnerable Sons of Iraq members, and roadside and vehicle-borne bombs killed several of them in recent weeks. Part of the $300/month paycheck a Sons of Iraq member receives is designated for the “martyr’s fund,” and is meant to support their family members. Large portraits of four killed Sons of Iraq members are placed in prominent positions in the community.

Read more here

Rock Soldiers

Rock Soldiers Provides Stability to Citizens of Mushada

By 1st Lt. Jesse Ozbat
2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division

CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Prior to the arrival of Company C “Rock,” 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment “Golden Dragons,” 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, Soldiers to the area of Mushada, northwest of Baghdad, there were few shops open and with very limited hours.

Many of the residents remained in their homes, and the local government was unable to function as it should. It became the goal of the Soldiers of Co. C to change the previous state of the area and make it safe for everyone that lives in Mushada.

“Our goal is to provide a secure environment so the Iraqi government can take control and we can transition home,” said Spc. Justin Scully, a native of Cincinnati.
            
The first step to changing Mushada for the better was to provide lasting security for the area. The Sons of Iraq (Abna al-Iraq) were established to secure their individual neighborhoods.

The Soldiers of Co. C began daily security patrols throughout the area. With the combined security efforts of the SoI and Co. C Soldiers, attacks decreased, the residents began leaving their homes and shops began to reopen. As the shops began to open the Soldiers began to address shop owners’ concerns to gain a better understanding of what they needed for improvement.

The Soldiers began providing micro grants to select business owners as a way for them to take the next step toward maintaining a consistent business. With the help of the grants, more and more shops began to open and the markets began to rapidly expand.
            
The improved security also allowed the leaders of Co. C to attend the Mushada City Council meeting and build a solid working relationship with the members.

Working closely with the Mushada Nahia, the Iraqi equivalent of a county seat, was an important goal for Co. C. Initially U.S. Soldiers took the lead, conducting assessments on schools, water treatment units, roads and various other potential projects as a show of good will. Now the Nahia council members have taken more control of local governance, and established their own priorities and methods of assessing progress within Mushada.

“The council has come a long way,” said Lt. Daniel Laakso, a native of South Bend, Ind., and platoon leader, Co. C, 1st Bn. 14th Inf. Regt., “It is encouraging to see them take care of their people.”

The local village leaders now go to the Mushada Nahia council members when they want projects in their village areas.

The combined efforts of Co. C and the Nahia has made immediate impacts as well as lasting impacts, and it is the hope of the Rock Soldiers that Mushada will be self sufficient by the time they reach the end of their time in the area.

Dragons assure safe passage

Shi’a Pilgrims Make Safe Journey From Najaf to Samarra and Back

By Sgt. Michael Moody
2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division

CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Shi’a pilgrims traveled more than 620 miles round trip, from Najaf to Samarra, north of Baghdad, in order to attend a religious observance, July 6.

Iraqi Army soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 37th Brigade of the 9th Iraqi Army Division and the 4th Battalion, 17th Brigade, 4th IA Div., closed portions of the Baghdad-Mosul highway as more than 3,000 devoted Shi’a Muslims crossed four governates on their way to Samarra. The recent gains in security and stability enjoyed by Iraqi citizens were demonstrated as the convoy traveled the approximately 300 miles each way without incident.

The IA soldiers took on the responsibility to ensure the safety of all the pilgrims. Coalition forces did not participate in securing the convoy, but stood ready in case the IA soldiers needed assistance.

“We have reached a point where Iraqi security forces are in the lead. This effort was planned, resourced and executed flawlessly by their hands,” said Lt. Col. Thomas Boccardi, a native of Colorado Springs, Colo., and battalion commander, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, “Golden Dragons,” 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, “Warrior,” 25th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad.

This was the second tip this year for pilgrims, and the second time this year they traveled safely under the security of the IA.

“For the second time now we have realized that reconciliation has taken root deeper than we have given it credit for,” said Capt. Calvin Kline, a native of Cincinnati and effects officer, 1st Bn. 14th Inf. Regt.

In January of this year, during the 10-day observance of Ashura, Shi’a pilgrims walked without incident down the length of the Baghdad-Mosul highway on their way to Najaf and Karbala.

This recent pilgrimage from Najaf to Samarra commemorated the martyrdom of the two al Askari Imams.

Pilgrims traveled courtesy of al Najaf al Ashraf Establishment, an organization committed to providing free transportation to these events.

Upon arriving to Samarra, the pilgrims made their way to the graves of the al Askari Imams where they read the Quran, prayed and worshiped. After their religious observances, the pilgrims boarded the busses and traveled back to Najaf.

Dragons protect the children

MND-B Soldiers, IA Make Effort to Protect Iraqi Children

Story by Pfc. Lyndsey Dransfield
Posted on 07.03.2008 at 07:37AM

By Pfc. Lyndsey R. Dransfield
2nd Styker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division

CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Children, at times, are easy targets for criminals and terrorists. Not only are they the victims of attacks, they are now the victims of recruitment into dangerous organizations.

Since the liberation of Iraq in 2003, there have been several incidents of al-Qaida using children to conduct their terrorist activities.

Soldiers from 4th Platoon, Company C, 1st Battalion 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team “Warrior,” 25th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, joined with the Iraqi army to reach out to children and their families by conducting a patrol throughout the Mushada area, northwest of Baghdad, passing out flyers and speaking with the locals of the city.

Their intent is to educate them about criminal and terrorist activities.

“At first the people that we made contact with were apprehensive to talk to us,” said Sgt. 1st Class Steve Purvis, native of Lexington, N.C., and platoon sergeant with Company C, 1st Bn., 14th Inf. Regt. “But when they realized we were there to inform them and about recent ploys to exploit their children, and that we care about them and their children, they were more receptive and openly began to talk with us.”

Not only were they successful in informing the families, but Sgt. John Mulcahy, native of Atlanta, and team sergeant attached to 1st Bn., 14th Inf. Regt., said they also had success in having their message distributed by the local religious leader, or imam.

Providing reassurance to their people, the Iraqi Army played a necessary role stopping recruitment of children.

“By people seeing the Iraqi Army serving and protecting them, it shows that their country is growing stronger,” said Purvis.

Passing out fliers and speaking to children may seem like a small step, but the message is a significant element toward the primary mission; providing a safe and secure environment for the people of Iraq.

“Everybody knows that Soldiers love children,” Purvis stated. “By using children al-Qaida is trying to exploit their innocence against us. The children of Iraq are the future of the country.”

Dragons Free a Sheikh

The Long War Journal is featuring another story by Nathan Webster who is on the ground in Iraq reporting on our Dragons. And again, Captain Loftis and Alpha Company are the stars:

TARMIYAH, IRAQ: A “keystone moment” in the recent turnaround to a relative calm in Tarmiyah was the February release of local tribal leader Sheikh Sa’ed Jassim, held for 11 months in US detention.

US Army Captain Christopher Loftis helped make the decision to free Jassim, but only after Jassim’s son persuaded Loftis that his father would improve the relationship between Americans and Iraqis in this area 25 miles north of Baghdad.

Letting Jassim go home was a risk. It appears to have paid off.

Loftis’ unit, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion/14th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, arrived in Tarmiyah in December 2007. Jassim’s son Imad had stood up the local Sons of Iraq security group in October, but he told Loftis, unless his father was released, he didn’t think he could or would much longer lead the group. The Sons of Iraq are one of several such civilian town watches patrolling Iraqi communities against al Qaeda and other threats. For about $300 a month, paid but not armed by the US, these local Iraqis man small checkpoints across the city.

“Imad tried to strong-arm me,” Loftis recalled. “He was using a lot of ultimatum language. I pushed back, and there was a lot of back-and-forth.”

Although the unit that preceded Alpha Company also supported Jassim’s release, Loftis was initially unsure of Imad’s assessment of his father’s influence in the area, and how significant his release would be. He certainly was not eager to help release a man caught financing the local activities of al Qaeda in Iraq and detained by the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior in late 2006.

“He financed al Qaeda in Iraq,” Loftis said. “He took US money for civil contracts and some of that money went to al Qaeda in Iraq.” It can be seen in black-and-white, but in Iraq nothing ever is.

Read the whole thing

Nathan also filed a report on July 3rd:

TARMIYAH, IRAQ: Sons of Iraq groups in Tarmiyah are succeeding “because they’re starting to assert themselves,” according to US Army Capt. Christopher Loftis, commander of Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division.

Loftis’ unit has manned a Joint Security Station here in Tarmiyah since December, and they’ve seen how its complicated politics works.

Now, because of tips from the Sons of Iraq members, many weapons caches have been discovered and reported throughout the region. In some cases Sons of Iraq members, many of whom are former insurgents, probably revealed their own caches to gain credibility or reward money, US soldiers say, but weapons off the market are a small victory all the same.

Many other caches, however, were long-term storage sites hidden by committed al Qaeda in Iraq members. Several searches in February and March revealed hundreds of pounds of homemade explosives, US-made weapons, and at one locations, chemicals to help kidnapping. One cache contained a Dishka anti-aircraft weapon.

Tips from local Iraqis, made to their locally-grown Sons of Iraq – “Sahwa” - groups, have led to many of the most impressive caches.

The Sons of Iraq members “know who the bad guys are,” Loftis said. “I would say most of them don’t like coalition forces, but they’ll work with us because it accomplishes their end goals.”

...That is the heart of the reconciliation effort the US soldiers are in the middle of..

But, it’s not so easy. The long-term solution must be to bring the Sons of Iraq into the central government control, either as police or soldiers. That means Sunni areas like Tarmiyah must work with the Shiite government in Baghdad.

In the short term, that level of national reconciliation is “impossible,” said Sheikh Imad, through a translator. “I have tried to get my men hired as policemen. Since October (when the Sons of Iraq began here), not one man has been hired.”

He calls Loftis a “brother” and worries what will happen when Alpha Company is replaced early next year. He does not seem to regard the US-paid Sons of Iraq as a short-term transition, but as a long-term means to protect Sunni areas against Shiite persecution. He does not want the US presence or paychecks here to end anytime soon.

Again, read the whole thing

Captain Christopher Loftis: “Al Qaeda isn’t coming back.”

TARMIYAH, IRAQ: Destroying a nondescript hut, made of mud and thatched straw, might have seemed a devastating overstatement. But according to US Army Captain Christopher Loftis, its destruction will show the local residents “Al Qaeda isn’t coming back.”

Loftis commands Alpha Company 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment of the 25th Infantry Division, based in Tarmiyah, Iraq, about 25 miles north of Baghdad. On June 7, members of the 66th Engineer Company, part of the 25th Infantry Division’s 2nd Brigade, used nearly 150 pounds of C-4 explosives to destroy the former al Qaeda cache house in the farmland area north of Tarmiyah.

Back in 2007, when al Qaeda in Iraq was dominant here, this was one of the worst areas for the insurgency.

Because of the houses’s bad reputation – when raided, chemicals used for kidnappings were discovered – rehabilitating it is not an option, Loftis said. “Local Iraqis didn’t come out this way unless they wanted to get kidnapped and beheaded,” he said.

Read the whole story by Nathan Webster at The Long War Journal