U.S. troops assess new Iraq strategy

BAGHDAD, Iraq – American soldiers patrolling muddy Baghdad alleyways sought to explain President Bush’s new strategy to Iraqis on Thursday, and traded predictions about how the new plan would change their lives in the coming year.

Many soldiers said the success of Bush’s new plan would depend more on implementation than numbers.

“How do you use them? That’s what’s important,” said Sgt. 1st Class William Ellis, a 35-year-old from Philadelphia who is with the 1st Cavalry Division. “If I now have to secure a much smaller area, I’ll absolutely feel the difference. It’s much easier to secure a 10-block area than a 20-block one.”

Some said they expected to be spending more time training Iraqi forces ahead of a possible hand-over of the war-ravaged capital to native hands.

“I think we’ll start spending a lot of time with the Iraqi army,” said Sgt. Maj. Fred Morris, a 45-year-old from Port Charlotte, Fla., who is on his third tour in Iraq. Soldiers found themselves explaining the new U.S. strategy to Iraqis, many of whom said they hadn’t seen Bush’s speech on television because they had no electricity.

“I hope Bush creates more security for us. I can’t even go downtown anymore because of the violence,” said Bassem Makhlif, who flagged down American soldiers and pleaded with them for help in fixing his neighborhood’s electricity and water pipes.

A 42-year-old Sunni, Makhlif is unemployed and frustrated with what he called “broken promises” by the Bush administration in Iraq.

“I love the American Army when I see them, but they don’t come here often enough, and recently they brought Iraqi soldiers with them,” Makhlif said.

In his speech, Bush put the onus on the Shiite-dominated Iraqi government to commit more troops, as well as to allow them to act against sectarian death squads, including members of the Mahdi Army militia that is loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

The commander of the U.S. Army’s 2nd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division said going after al-Sadr’s militia would be a delicate task.

“The Mahdi Army is a recognized militia here, so you’ve got to be careful. You’ve got to go after what they do, not who they are. Target the illegal behavior,” said Col. Michael M. Kershaw, 45, of Huffman, Texas.

Kershaw said the troop increase might not be felt in his area, a 330-square-mile battle space just south of the capital, and the participation of Iraqi forces would be crucial.

“The decisive area is in Baghdad. I could frankly use more Iraqi troops down here than American troops. Most of the additional troops are heading to Baghdad, so we’re a little understaffed here,” he said. “If we can’t turn these places over to Iraqis, it won’t work.”