Jim Spiri in Iraq

This is a Sunni village that in recent months past,
has given much trouble to US forces and inflicted many
casualties due to deep buried IED's and the like. The
villagers were Sunni insurgents who felt left out of
the political process here in Iraq which is currently
dominated by Shiites. They, the Sunnis here, battled
Shiites from another town close by, as well as US and
coalition forces for quite sometime. As this took
place, AQI forces exploited this divide, and made
serious attempts to move in and occupy this village.
Their methods were brutal and resulted in many, many
murders so much so, that Sunnis pretty much moved out
of the town and fled to safer areas. As time has gone
on, the local Sunnis have reconsidered their options
coupled with other areas around the country that have
participated in the so called, "Sunni Awakening", as
was started by the late Sheik Satar of Ramadi, and
have come to the conclusion that working with the
American forces is the best option for them to
survive. It is an extremely complicated situation,
but one that is being employed here and having some
measure of success currently. Enter now the CLC, or
what is called, Concerned Local Citizens group, made
up of local villagers that want to take a firm stand
against AQI and retake their village once and for all.
It is a similar concept that I saw work in Anbar
province. Here it is more complicated at the moment
due to the stronghold AQI has had up till recently in
this area. For some time, it has been a kind of no
mans land, where brutal murders and terrorism had run
rampant at the hands of AQI.

Today I would travel with Apache Troop, 1st platoon.
Apache troop is commanded by Capt. Klascius. 1st
Platoon is commanded by Lt. Dan Doverspike. 2nd
Platoon would be with us as well. In addition, some
Iraqi Army soldiers would venture out with us as well
as some CLC members who are stepping up to the plate.

We would gather long before sunrise here at FOB Falcon
and receive a briefing for today's mission. Then we
would travel in humvees to an Iraqi Army position and
dismount from there into the village, once the sun
peeked up over the horizon. The trek would take us
through farm land that has a beauty to it, but no one
took time out to view it. Everyone moved about, in
strategic fashion watching every step, coordinating
every move. There were a few CLC members with us,
that were taking us to a home that was occupied by a
woman and some children.

The fact that the CLC members were coming along is a
measure of success and must be noted. For they have
taken a stand against AQI which surely puts them in
danger. But they have chosen to retake their homes
and be done with AQI. We moved through canal roads in
the early morning air, walking through fields that
were full of tumbleweed type foliage. The green
spines were very sharp and penetrated through my
pants. It did not concern me for the most part. I
was too busy following the soldier in front of me
which happened to be Lt. Doverspike. As I looked
around I could twenty or so soldiers in front of me
and twenty or so soldiers behind me. All were moving
not saying a word and on the ready for whatever may or
may not transpire. I felt at one point what it must
have been like in wars past moving in such a manner.
I was here now, with these soldiers, in this war,
going into an area that has been rough in recent
weeks. It was very quiet. All that could be heard
were the footsteps ahead and behind me, and even that
was faint at best.

As we made some moves around some corners, soldiers
took up positions as movement was coordinated in a
particular way. I watched as some soldiers would take
a knee and cover both sides of the road, as others
advanced. Every angle was covered every step of the
way. I was once again moving about among highly
trained soldiers. I snapped photos here and there. I
wanted to run ahead and take different angled shots,
but I kept my place in the move. It is not just about
a good photograph anymore. It is about what they,
(the soldiers) are doing here in Iraq on this very
day. More history.

We came to the designated farm house. Many of the
soldiers waited and took up positions as a small
number of soldiers with CLC members accompanying them,
approached the home. Soon, the rest of us were
motioned forward and the farm was surrounded by the
troops from two platoons. Some were on the roof, some
were in the yards, some were in the house, and still
others were positioned elsewhere. We would wait here
at the home to see if the enemy would make a move.
This is now and has been recently the preliminary
stages of once again "owning the day" not just the
night.

As we all took our places in and around the home, I
listened as the Captain spoke to the woman who
occupied the home, through a translator. She had told
him that now that the Americans come she feels finally
safe. Many have been murdered here and the time has
come for AQI to be expelled. As the morning wore on,
I asked some of the children, again through a
translator, if they ever go to school. They replied
through the translator that yes, they had been in
school but now days school is out of the question.
The children told me, through the translator that even
children have been murdered by AQI and that going to
school has been too dangerous.

I contemplated what I had just heard and what I was
currently experiencing. I was in a Sunni village that
had once caused much pain and suffering to American
forces and now had been duped by AQI so much so that
the Americans are now looked upon as "the help" to
eradicate a brutal enemy. Coming into this town for
the soldiers is not such an easy thing to do. I have
heard at times in casual conversation among a whole
range of soldiers that the enemy that once was, are
now the ones seeking our help. One soldier told me
flat out, "this is how reconciliation works". It is
not easy to overcome, but it is what has to happen.
This is an example of what a warrior must learn here
in the war in Iraq. In order to succeed, some things
from recent past, must be put aside. I have known
this, but to be present during the actual carrying out
of it, is another thing all together.

Recently I have been present as local leaders from
many cities and villages around Iraq come to the
American forces as one by one they are terrorized by
AQI forces to such an extent that they now see the
Americans as the ones bringing "freedom" to their
homes, village by village, here in this part and other
parts of Iraq. I have seen it with my own eyes and
heard it with my own ears. I have even today heard it
from a young child who is old enough to speak without
any coaching. The child cannot go to school for fear
of being murdered by AQI. This is the cold hard facts
of the area I entered today.

We stayed for several hours and our presence was made
known simply by us not leaving. The townspeople are
taking a stand, albeit small steps now, but one must
learn to walk before one can learn to run. Nothing
ended up happening as far as attacks this morning and
soon after noon, we departed the farm home. As we
left I looked on the children's faces as they watched
the soldiers and CLC members leave. They along with
the woman had remarked that now they feel safe,
finally. We'll see what transpires in the days ahead.

We moved out and returned the three klicks or so that
we had come, only this time taking a different route
back. As we were moving along some dirt roads, I
noticed some women fall in our lines carrying things
on their heads. It was obvious they felt safer going
to wherever they were going, in the middle of dozens
of US soldiers. Perhaps these same women's husbands
had at one time planned attacks on these same
soldiers, but now, times are different, more or less.
The Americans will protect them from the terrorism of
AQI.

When I returned to FOB Falcon, later on, I viewed the
photos I had taken. I seemed to have focused in on
the soldiers this day doing their jobs. It reminded
me much of years past traveling around El Salvador
twenty years ago. The landscape looked a bit similar
and movement was the same. I thought much about what
I had seen and heard today and where I had just been.
But mostly I looked at the photos of those soldiers I
had captured in digital images. Their faces and their
eyes as they did their jobs. This is what I had come
for, photographically speaking. To see into the eyes
of those who go before me into dangerous places. This
is such a complicated place, this land called Iraq.
And remarkable things are being done by these
soldiers. They have bitten the bullet and swallowed
their anger for a recent enemy that now is in need.
This is reconciliation at its finest hour, on a daily
basis. I do not know how they do it, but it is what
we have told them to do.

The AQI have underestimated the integrity of the US
soldier. For in this culture in Iraq, years and years
of turmoil have turned into centuries and centuries of
war. Perhaps now, AQI here in Iraq might be sensing
defeat not just militarily but on a basic human level.
Murdering a child for going to school is much worse
than an American soldier caring for ones safety and
well being.

This is Iraq, southeast of Baghdad, in the rural area
where IED laden roads dot the landscape and US
soldiers go into places, "That Angels Fear to Tread".

Jim Spiri
FOB Falcon, Iraq
jimspiri@yahoo.com