Americas' Force....

[DeadCat]

Jittery U.S. Soldiers Kill 6 Iraqis
Sun Aug 10, 6:49 PM ET

By SCHEHEREZADE FARAMARZI, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The night air hung like a hot wet blanket over the north Baghdad suburb of Slaykh. At 9 p.m., an electrical transformer blew up, plunging the neighborhood into darkness.

American soldiers, apparently fearing a bomb attack, went on alert. Within 45 minutes, six Iraqis trying to get home before the 11 p.m. curfew were shot and killed by U.S. forces.

Anwaar Kawaz, 36, lost her husband and three of four children. "We kept shouting, 'We're a family! Don't shoot!' But no one listened. They kept shooting," she told The Associated Press. She's expecting another child this month.

When asked about Friday's shootings, Lt. Col. Guy Shields, coalition military spokesman, said, "Our checkpoints are usually marked and our soldiers are trained and disciplined. I will check on that. That is serious."

Confronted by daily guerrilla attacks that have claimed 56 American lives since May 1, U.S. troops are on edge. Iraqis complain that many innocent people have died at surprise U.S. checkpoints thrown up on dark streets shortly before the curfew. Drivers hurrying home say they don't see the soldiers or hear their orders to stop.

The Kawaz family left the home of Anwaar's parents on Bilal Habashi Street at 9:15 p.m. for the 10-minute drive home. They had traveled only a half-mile when they reached the intersection where they said the American bullets took their terrible toll.

A few yards in front of them, two soldiers standing near two Humvees were shooting at the family's white Volkswagen, she said. Two other soldiers near a Humvee to the right of the car also fired, she said.

Witnesses told the AP one of the soldiers fell to the ground screaming in pain, apparently a victim of friendly fire.

"They killed us. There was no signal. Nothing at all. We didn't see anything but armored cars," Anwaar said Sunday, two days after the confrontation.

"Our headlights were on. He (her husband) didn't have time to put his foot on the brake. They kept shooting. He was shot in the forehead. I was still sitting next to him. I got out of the car to get help. I was shouting, 'Help me! Help me!' No one came."

Witnesses said her husband, Adel Kawaz, survived for at least an hour, still sitting in the car after being hit in the head and back.

Ibrahim Arslan, whose house is on the corner where the Kawaz car came under fire, said Kawaz cried out for help.

Arslan said he and a neighbor tried to remove the wounded Kawaz from the car, but the door was jammed. Then they fled when automatic rifle fire again split the air.

"The next day we heard he had died," Arslan said.

Ali Taha, who lives across the street, said Haydar Kawaz, 18, was sitting up in the back of the car with a bullet wound in his head. His sister, 17-year-old Olaa, slumped dead into his arms.

When the shooting stopped and the American soldiers were gone, Taha said, he and other neighbors ventured out about 11 p.m. and took the bodies of the brother and sister from the car, placed them on the pavement and covered them with a sheet.

The Americans had taken the bodies of Adel, the husband, and another child, 8-year-old Mirvet. Two days later, the family still did not know where the bodies were taken.

A fourth child, a 13-year-old Hadeel, survived.

"I was sitting in the middle, between my brother Haydar and sister Olaa," Hadeel said, her head bandaged.

"I felt blood coming down my head. I tried to drag myself out of the car. An American pulled me out. I kept telling them that my father and my brother were in the car. There was a translator with them.

"My father was shouting, 'We are still alive!' but no went to help him.

"The Americans told me to go with them but I was afraid they would hurt me. I didn't trust them. So I ran to my grandparents' house," Hadeel said. She told the story sitting in her grandparents' home, crying quietly, surrounded by family.

Lt. Sean McLaughlin, stationed at a base near Slaykh, could only express sympathy, although he said his unit was not involved.

"No one feels worse than us. We want to build a safe Iraq (news - web sites) for the Iraqis. It's a difficult situation here," McLaughlin said.

A few blocks from where the car was shot up, 19-year-old Sayf Ali was shot and killed as he drove home with a cousin and a friend. He, too, didn't see the American checkpoint, survivors in the car said. Soldiers opened fire on the blue Opel station wagon, which kept moving after Ali was shot. The cousin and the friend jumped out. Soldiers kept firing until the car caught fire incinerating Ali's body, according to one of the witnesses, Arslan.

About the same time nearby, Ali Salman, 31, was driving home, also unaware of the unannounced American checkpoints. He apparently didn't see the soldiers either and was killed.

Ghaleb Laftah, 24, who was sitting in the back of Salman's Honda, and Wisam Sabri, sitting in the front passenger seat, were wounded.

"There was no light. We didn't see the Americans," said Laftah, limping from a leg injury as he walked to Salman's wake that was being held under a tent on Bilal Habashi Street.

"We didn't hurt anyone. We didn't break the law," Laftah said, speaking with difficulty because of four broken teeth from the shooting.

"My son, ... the Americans killed him," said Salman's father, Hikmat, who broke down in sobs. "He was on his way home and was caught up in the shooting. He was afraid, got out of the car and they still shot him. He was frightened, then he died. I only have one (son)," he said.

Family members were also holding a wake for Sayf Ali. The men sat under a tent outside the house and the women were indoors, according to Iraqi tradition.

Sabah Azawmi, an uncle and a Sunni Muslim, said his tribe would seek revenge on the Americans.

"They set fire to the car while he was inside," said Azawmi.

"They are terrified of the Iraqis. If they weren't afraid, they wouldn't behave this way," he said.

But Hikmat Salman, Ali Salman's father and a Shiite Muslim, said he was not interested in revenge. He said he would leave that to God.

The Kawaz family, also Shiites, also said they would leave revenge to God.

"I wish Saddam (Hussein) would return and kill all Americans," Anwaar Kawaz said. Under Saddam, "we used to go out at one in the morning. We went out at 9 now and they killed us.

"I want to drink Bush's blood. They are all criminals," she said, beating her chest.

[DeadCat]

Two Iraqi policemen shot dead by US soldiers
Mon Aug 11, 9:33 AM ET

BAGHDAD (AFP) - US soldiers in Baghdad on Saturday shot dead an Iraqi policeman they mistook for an attacker, killed another as he tried to surrender to them and beat a third, a survivor of the incident told AFP.

The three Iraqi officers were firing from their unmarked police car at a suspect vehicle they were chasing when the Americans opened fire on them in a western suburb of the capital, sergeant Hamza Atiya Muhsen, who said he was driving the car, told AFP on Monday.

The incident comes two weeks after human rights watchdog Amnesty International savaged the US military for its alleged repeated use of excessive force in Iraq (news - web sites).

Lieutenant Colonel Muayad Farhan, deputy head of Al-Yarmuk police station where the dead officers were based, confirmed that two of his men had been shot dead by coalition forces.

The US military said it was aware of an incident but unable to provide information. But army spokesman Staff Sergeant J.J. Johnson said Sunday there had been a case of "blue on blue" on Saturday, a term for an incident where friendly forces fire on one another.

As the Al-Yarmuk deputy police chief spoke to AFP Monday, two US military police officers came to offer their condolences to him. They asked not to be named but said they believed the two officers had been shot by US troops after being mistaken for attackers.

Sergeant Muhsen, 28, said one of his colleagues, Sergeant Mohammed Hilal Nahi, 30, was shot as he sat in the back seat of their white Hyundai car. It is the same make and colour as many other Iraqi police vehicles but did not have the force's blue markings and police numbering.

The third officer, Second Lieutenant Alaa Ali Saleh, 24, who was uniformed, was shot as he got out of the front passenger seat and held his hands in the air, holding his coalition-issued yellow police badge and shouting "police, police," said Muhsen.

"The second time he said it he was shot. He was hit by a machine gun that was firing at us right from the start of the incident," said Muhsen, who said the incident took place outside a cement factory on the Abu Gharib Road.

Muhsen, who said he was in civilian clothes but wearing the large police armband and wearing a yellow police badge, said after the firing had stopped he got out of the car and held his hands up.

"Three soldiers surrounded me. I got down on my knees, hands in the air, holding my badge," said Muhsen, speaking in his home in the Um al-Maalif district in southwestern Baghdad.

"One of them kicked me in the back and I fell to the ground. Another one kicked me twice in the face. They put their boots on my head and pressed it into the ground.

"I kept saying 'police, police.' I don't speak English but it's the same word in Arabic," said Muhsen, who said the beating lasted several minutes.

Muhsen showed AFP cuts to his nose and head, a black eye, and took off his shirt to display bruises over much of his back and on his chest.

A car the Al-Yarmuk deputy police chief said was the one involved in the incident was in the yard of the police station.

There were dark stains on the back seat and the vehicle had six bullet holes on the passenger side, 10 bullet holes in the front window, which had remained intact, one on the driver's side and one in the roof. The back window was shattered.

Mushen said the incident began outside the Jordanian embassy, the target last Thursday of a massive car bomb that killed at least 14 and threw Baghdad's already precarious security situation into further turmoil.

His police car was fired at from a passing vehicle and gave chase, he said. A second police car -- this one with police markings -- followed.

When Muhsen's car reached the multi-laned Abu Gharib Road, his fellow officers began leaning out and firing at the fleeing vehicle, using a pistol and a Kalashnikov assault rifle, he said.

It was at this point that they came under fire from the American soldiers in two armoured vehicles. The fleeing vehicle continued on its way.

The second, marked police car arrived at the scene shortly after and did not come attack from US forces.

Sergeant Muhsen, who said he was questioned in a US base for several hours before being released, said he believed the US soldiers had genuinely believed he and his colleagues were bandits.

But the deaths have sparked anger among police here.

First Lieutenant Suadad Fadl was one of a number of upset officers speaking at Al-Yarmuk police station, where a black banner was hung on the outside wall with a death notice for the dead officers.

"The Americans killed them, they must make good, they must pay the price," Fadl said. "I have told them (the coalition forces) that I can't work with them if they do this. We're upset. We work with the Americans like brothers to catch thieves. We risk our lives with them."

[DeadCat]

A tad excessive is it not? I wonder what would be the public’s opinion if US forces took out 2 NY policemen and beat a 3rd as they were trying to do their jobs and apprehend criminals?

(DeadCat)

[DeadCat]

It’s phases like these that tick me off, are the US forces not accountable for what they are doing?

On the first incident:

“When asked about Friday's shootings, Lt. Col. Guy Shields, coalition military spokesman, said, "Our checkpoints are usually marked and our soldiers are trained and disciplined. I will check on that. That is serious."”

On the second incident:

“The US military said it was aware of an incident but unable to provide information.”

I guarantee you this is the last we will hear of these two incidents, as they will be once again quietly swept out of sight….

How many times have we heard from the US military that they will investigate an incident only to see the issue disappear??

(DeadCat)

[Topcontender]

If I know there is a zero tolerance cerfew, you better belive my ass will be home before the deadline. We have already seen to many times where check points have been fired on or bombed by cars that are filled with women and children.

As for the cops, they need to get thier car marked wih a tag that shows who they are. Same situation as above, you can't take anything for granted.

It sucks, but that is the way it goes with check points.

[worthless]

DC,
Those casualties are usually considered friendly fire incidents or "blue on blue." Typically there is an investigation by military internal affairs where as all available parties are interrogated and a full report is written. If there is a "conscious breach" of Geneva convention guidelines/laws (as well as a breach of any UN regulations) then there is a full military trial or a court martial.

There has been a steady increase of friendly fire incidents throughout the later half of the twentieth century (and now beyond). They are one of the many many many horrible effects of war. But when it comes to combat, any historian will tell you that they are a 'fact-of-life.'

Friendly fire casualty rates (Americans side only):
WW2: 21%
Korea: 18%
Vietnam: 39%
Persian Gulf 1: 49%

Military historians can't seem to put an exact reason for 'why' this occurring, but there are many theories. The primary reason is the average age of the US soldier has gotten younger over the years. They make bad judgement calls. The other is that the "enemy" has become much more difficult to detect. They aren't 'soldiers' in the traditional sense. And the speculation goes on and on.....


They all concur, however, that there is no really effective way to stop this. That is one reason why resistant forces in Iraq will attack in the method in which they do. It is 1)unpredictable 2)it forces the Americans to do the impossible - separate the 'friendlies' from the 'foes.' There have been several stories that have shown Iraqi (presumably) men driving up to check points with their families. Then once the US soldiers approach, they set off a car-bomb blowing up the soldiers and their families.

That is what keeps the soldiers of balance. It is a classic method of guerrilla warfare. The "genius" (notice the quotes) is that now everyone (especially the innocents) are potential "foes." And thus the 'evil American pigs' are killing babies and blowing up baby milk factories, etc. The media catches the story and they're off......

Please (please please please) don't misinterpret what I am saying as an excuse for the deaths of the Iraqi civilians. There is no excuse for that.

My point is that, while I typically stray away from the weekly anti-American threads here, I think that we all should take a step back and realize that there are many facets and many different elements at work here. This is a complicated matter and while it is very easy (not to mention fashionable) to blame the Americans, lets take a deep breath, and take a look at the whole picture. It's not pretty, I know.

As a side note, DC, I've always admired your posts (regardless of whether I agree with them). They are very informative, thought provoking, and usually above my head.



Oh wait a minute! Isn't this where I am supposed to call you stupid for not believing in the same things I do?!?

Damn you and your foolish beliefs! Away with you until you are willing to accept my beliefs as fact! (wink wink nudge nudge)

[DeadCat]

worthless,

Cheers for your response, and in a way I do agree with you. But these are not isolated incidences and these latest two incidents in as many days to me highlight how the US needs to protect the Iraqi people instead of killing them with a shoot first ask questions latter attitude. The general feeling we are getting is that the American people care more about the American troops than the people their government is trying justify this war as freeing.

Ok, civilian causalities will of course occur in any war, but this war was meant to be over in record time like 3 months ago and to be an example for future non UN backed sovereign invasions.

I think we all know that it's a simple fact that soldiers are trained to kill, that is their job, and that is what their instincts are telling them to do. If they feel threatened by a proposed threat they will shoot to kill, hence the large number of head shots seen on innocent Iraqi's. But the US military needs to understand that this is not how you gain the trust of a people, and gaining the Iraqi peoples trust is paramount to the new US lead (see leashed) Iraqi government.

My main biff here is not just about the unnecessary causalities of civilians trying to rebuild their lives but more so the US's reluctance to accept that these events are even occurring.

As you would see in my posts you should know that I don't place a variable value for human life and that I see an Iraqi civilian in the same light as say for example an American diplomat. Both lives have the same value and they should be treated with the same respect. The US soldiers in Iraq do not appear to have these same values and appear to be placing their lives over that of Iraqi civilians.

But to reiterate, I doubt we'll hear anything further about these incidents. The US government seems to have this whole "no comment" thing down to a tee.

It's comments like this seem to go unnoticed:

"When asked about Friday's shootings, Lt. Col. Guy Shields, coalition military spokesman, said, "Our checkpoints are usually marked and our soldiers are trained and disciplined. I will check on that. That is serious.""

Usually marked? What's this about unmarked checkpoints? How are civilians meant to know to stop or gun-it to try and get through just before curfew? "Usually" can mean anywhere above 50 percent. (Especially when it's a surprise unmarked checkpoint in the dark and civilians seem to fear the Guerrilla Iraqis as much as the forcefull American occupiers)

I don't know what the solution is and I won't pretend too, but taking out police officers with heavy machine gun fire from an armoured vehicle as the officer exits his vehicle holding a police badge in the air shouting "police, police" is a definite no no.

BTW, I have no biff with the Americans, I just wish they'd wake up and understand that the rest of world is not jealous or envious of their military.

(DeadCat)

Oh, I also have no problems in debates as long as everyone can keep their head and keep it reasonable. Hearing your views is interesting and it's what makes a politics section a politics sections. (as well as a few moderator but-ins....)

Have a beer on me....

[justin]

DeadCat

ermm It's OK to trash the yanks but please don't make something out of nothing.

When he said usually marked that's what he meant, he did not mean most are and some by design aren't marked. If other words all should be marked.

If anything write a letter of complaint to the Fanatical Cowardly Bastards religious or other wise who are actually causing this havoc. Maybe they will listen to your plea and change their method of engagement so only combatants will be involved.

No one said it was going to be a walk in the park,(check oil prices lately) so unless the States pulls a retreat(unlikely) or other UN countries finally get tired of watching innocents die and volunter troops and support what is going to change. nada


As far as military PR, why should they be different than any other military on this planet?

[worthless]

.....and one for you, DeadCat.

Let me start by saying that understand your frustrations with Americans. Your perceptions are understandable and fair.

I don't necessarily disagree with any of them. But don't expect an upright answer from a US military officer. You know after a race, a driver that is really pissed off and wants to go off on Bernie or Max, but only thanks his team and his sponsors then walks away?

That Lt. Col is doing the exact same thing. Just being politically correct. He could be pissed off as hell that his troops just shot up an unarmed man. We just don't know. And we probably never will.

There have been, however, some incidents recently (most notably in Afghanistan) where some pilots have been tried (and in some cases convicted) of hitting civilian targets. But there have been more, where the defendants have been found innocent. (Now insert conspiracy theory here ).

Now whether or not we will here anything else about these particular incidents....who knows? Personally, I doubt it as well.

Although I do think that the US military is admitting that these incidents are happening. Simply because they have to. The press is all over it. Everyday there are more questions that they have to answer. It's an achilles heel that isn't going away.


Now I have no idea at all about the standards and practices of American "checkpoints" so I simply cannot comment on how well they are marked and how well informed the Iraqi public is to the 'proper' procedures. So I'll leave that one alone.....

But also keep in mind that there have been many cases of language barriers. Arab customs are very (very very) foreign to the vast majority of american soldiers. Simple miscommunication can be seen as a threat. Not saying that it's right (in fact, they should be teaching those troops arabic), but it is another barrier.


It's not my belief that the world is envious of our military (maybe of our BBQ . I think that Americans are just a proud people (much like Australians ) and sometimes that is percieved as being obnoxious. And our president hasn't really done much to dispell that myth....which doesn't help.

I can understand your sentiment.


But as for keeping my head, no problem. Now being reasonable, that's simply impossible.

[who won]

Interesting and revealing news. Turn on the TV here though and the only mention of any casualties are US soldiers. Actually not strictly true. Virtually the only time you hear any counts of deaths are the following

a) US Soldiers
b) Coalition (British) soldiers
c) Terrorists

Missing is the count of civillians in any reporting on TV here. I've been watching the news all evening, not a word about the story above but the only thing I have heard is a story about a US soldier killed, a tale about a human shield who went to Iraq and is now probably going to jail. Thats it.

What I want to know, is this:

Is the non mention of killing of civilians:

a) censorship from above? (Governement)
b) self censorship from the media itself?

Whichever one it is, what does that say about this being the most free and as is often mentioned, 'uniquely free' country when one of the bastions of freedom, the media, is censored from reporting actions of its own army?

Topcontender, I am a little torn between being on your side and not. But I do see you justifying actions that no doubt had they been carried out by the Israeli army I'm sure would see a different response from you. This is an occupying force, they do face terrorist attacks and they do have rules of engagement that allow them to shoot at people breking curfew at checkpoints. Its difficult to see your own side as being in the wrong eh?

[Danny Boy]

DC; Sadly this happens all the time, the American troops are, by and large, arrogant and undisciplined, and they are totally unsuited to the role they are playing in Iraq. Even sadder, they are supported by an even more arrogant and undisciplined American Government and an (largely) illiterate American public. Hopefully, as the death toll of American solders reaches 500+ the American public will start to demand the withdrawal of their troops.

[worthless]

It's interesting that you bring up media censorship (or lack of reporting) Who Won, as I have wondered that myself.

There is very little reported in "mainstream" American media. There are a few stories, but they are not as prevelant as one would think.

CNN has made some reports, but generally what you see are people protesting in the streets of Baghdad or Tikrit. But very rarely do they mention specifics on civilian casualties.

Anyone have any reasons for this?

My guess is that western reporters simply aren't that welcome. Also I would imagine that the military is very sensitive as to where the cameras go. Wartime censorship is nothing new and cameras can be a real threat to any military operation (which is almost common sense these days). Doesn't make it "right," but certainly is a fact.

Like it or not, I would imagine that both sides of this issue aren't getting the full story.

BTW:
As for the American literacy rate, the US is 7th in the world for adult literacy. England is 13th. Bahrain is 37th. Norway is 1st. (Aussie's are 4th )

Me fail english? That's unpossible.....

www.undp.org/hdr2003/indicator/indic_2_1_1.html

[Danny Boy]

Let me clarify my use of illiterate in the earlier post, I do not mean illiterate as in the ability to read the latest super deal from McDonalds, rather illiterate, as in anything that happens out side the US.
Interesting figures on illiteracy from worthless the figures I have, show American below all the European countries. that survay is of all and not adult.

[justin]

For an Iraqi Family, 'No Other Choice'
Father and Brother Are Forced by Villagers to Execute Suspected U.S. Informant
By Anthony Shadid
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, August 1, 2003; Page A01


THULUYA, Iraq -- Two hours before the dawn call to prayer, in a village still shrouded in silence, Sabah Kerbul's executioners arrived. His father carried an AK-47 assault rifle, as did his brother. And with barely a word spoken, they led the man accused by the village of working as an informer for the Americans behind a house girded with fig trees, vineyards and orange groves.




His father raised his rifle and aimed it at his oldest son.

"Sabah didn't try to escape," said Abdullah Ali, a village resident. "He knew he was facing his fate."

The story of what followed is based on interviews with Kerbul's father, brother and five other villagers who said witnesses told them about the events. One shot tore through Kerbul's leg, another his torso, the villagers said. He fell to the ground still breathing, his blood soaking the parched land near the banks of the Tigris River, they said. His father could go no further, and according to some accounts, he collapsed. His other son then fired three times, the villagers said, at least once at his brother's head.

Kerbul, a tall, husky 28-year-old, died.

"It wasn't an easy thing to kill him," his brother Salah said.

In his simple home of cement and cinder blocks, the father, Salem, nervously thumbed black prayer beads this week as he recalled a warning from village residents earlier this month. He insisted his son was not an informer, but he said his protests meant little to a village seething with anger. He recalled their threat was clear: Either he kill his son, or villagers would resort to tribal justice and kill the rest of his family in retaliation for Kerbul's role in a U.S. military operation in the village in June, in which four people were killed.

"I have the heart of a father, and he's my son," Salem said. "Even the prophet Abraham didn't have to kill his son." He dragged on a cigarette. His eyes glimmered with the faint trace of tears. "There was no other choice," he whispered.

In the simmering guerrilla war fought along the Tigris, U.S. officials say they have received a deluge of tips from informants, the intelligence growing since U.S. forces killed former president Saddam Hussein's two sons last week. Acting on the intelligence, soldiers have uncovered surface-to-air missiles, 45,000 sticks of dynamite and caches of small arms and explosives. They have shut down safe houses that sheltered senior Baath Party operatives in the Sunni Muslim region north of Baghdad and ferreted out lieutenants and bodyguards of the fallen Iraqi president, who has eluded a relentless, four-month manhunt.

But a shadowy response has followed, a less-publicized but no less deadly theater of violence in the U.S. occupation. U.S. officials and residents say informers have been killed, shot and attacked with grenades. U.S. officials say they have no numbers on deaths, but anecdotal evidence suggests that the campaign is widespread in a region long a source of support for Hussein's government. The U.S. officials declined to discuss specifics about individual informers and would not say whether Kerbul was one.

Lists of informers have circulated in at least two northern cities, and remnants of the Saddam's Fedayeen militia have vowed in videotaped warnings broadcast on Arab satellite networks that they will fight informers "before we fight the Americans."

No Protection From U.S. Troops

The surge of informants has also provoked anger in Sunni Muslim towns along the Tigris. Some residents say informants are drawn to U.S. field commanders' rewards of as little as $20 and as much as $2,500. The informants are occasionally interested in settling their own feuds and grudges with the help of soldiers, the residents said. Others contend that the informers are exploiting access with U.S. officials to emerge as power-brokers in the vacuum that has followed the fall of the government on April 9.

"Time's running out. Something will happen to them very soon," said Maher Saab, 30, in the village of Saniya.

The U.S. military says bluntly it does not have the means to safeguard those providing intelligence. "We're not providing any kind of protection at the local level," said Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the U.S. military commander in Iraq.

In Saniya, where slogans still declare "Long Live Saddam Hussein," Abdel-Hamid Ahmed sat in a well-to-do house along dirt roads and arid fields of rolling hills where sheep graze. He proudly described himself as the first person to greet the invading Americans and ticked off the help he has offered since they arrived, most notably information on saboteurs of electricity wires.

Since then, he said, he has met U.S. soldiers at his house at least once a week, usually for no more than 15 minutes.

"I'm not an informer, but I help explain to the Americans the situation here," he said in a well-kept living room, adorned with a new Toshiba television, a stereo, karaoke machine and 15 vases of plastic flowers.

Ahmed, who works in the mayor's office, was on two lists of informers circulated in the village and in the nearby city of Baiji, 120 miles northwest of Baghdad. Under the heading, "In the name of God, the most merciful and compassionate," each list had about 20 names, and, over the past month, the leaflets were left before dawn on doorsteps and utility posts. On the first list, he was ranked 10th; on the second, he said, he was fourth. He said he told the Americans about two men who distributed the list, and they were arrested.

In the street, some people have heckled him as an agent -- "a grave word," he said. He has not been physically threatened, but a grenade was thrown at another person on the list, Kamil Hatroush, although neither he nor his family was hurt. Ahmed said he carries only a 9mm pistol, eschewing the almost standard AK-47s wielded by most Iraqis in the countryside.

"I'm not scared," Ahmed said, flicking his hand lazily and insisting that only a minority resent those working with the Americans. "If someone wants to kill you, why would they give you a warning first? They would just kill you right away."

Ahmed was kicked out of Baghdad's National Security College in 1983, the training ground for the government's sprawling apparatus of intelligence services. He said the disappointment led him to alcoholism, then part-time work, most recently at the mayor's office, where he earned the equivalent of about $2 a month.

[justin]

"If the Americans offered me a job in security, I would work with them," he said. "Every person has to plan for the future."

U.S. military officials attribute most of their tips to good will, either out of an informant's desire to eliminate the vestiges of Hussein's rule that are unpopular even in the Sunni Muslim-dominated north, or to end attacks that have unsettled a region still reeling from the government's fall. Maj. Josslyn Aberle, a spokeswoman for the 4th Infantry Division, which is based in Hussein's home town of Tikrit, said only a "very small percentage receive money" and that the U.S. military vets intelligence before acting on it. Ahmed denied seeking money, saying he cooperates for the good of his town.

In Hussein's government, informers were encouraged, paid and protected by the intelligence services, a crucial but despised means of control in 35 years of Baath Party rule. Some residents contend today that at least some people in the new batch of informers -- those willing to defy mounting threats -- have charged protection fees or sold their services as perceived intermediaries with U.S. forces.

Outside Ahmed's house, a group of men sat in a battered white Toyota, as relatives sought an audience with Ahmed for help in getting back a car that was seized by the Americans.

Over the weekend, the family of five men arrested by U.S. forces near their base in Baiji said they gave Ahmed a sheep, worth about $30, to help secure the men's release. He denied it.

In Samarra, about 65 miles north of Baghdad, Abdel-Razzaq Shakr, the brother of the town's mayor, was on another list distributed in the town two weeks ago, with at least six names of suspected informers. Residents said people in the town had gone to Shakr for help with U.S. forces in getting their guns back and to deflect suspicion from friends and relatives.

Shakr acknowledged providing the Americans information on Baathists, but he denied taking money from residents.

"I haven't taken even a cent," said Shakr, 45, who is unemployed. "On the contrary, I want to leave a mark on our town so that our children will thank their fathers for what they did."

A grenade was thrown at his house on July 18. It landed in the courtyard near a tangerine tree, shattering windows but hurting no one. Another person on the list, Mustafa Sadeq Abboudi, was shot in the arm with an AK-47. Shakr said he has a pistol and a rifle, but his brother, Mayor Mahmoud Shakr, has urged him not to seek help from U.S. forces.

"The Americans cannot offer protection," the mayor said. "If the Americans stood outside the door, it would only cause more trouble because it would mean he is definitely working with them."

Sitting in a chair and holding a cup of sweet tea, the mayor expressed frustration. Suspicions have become so common that more than 100 Muslim clerics met last week and issued a statement that not all Iraqis working with U.S. forces should be considered informers. "When ever somebody talks to the Americans," he said, shaking his head, "they think he's an agent."

Calls for Revenge

Residents of Thuluya said they had no doubt about Kerbul. After the operation in the village, dubbed Peninsula Strike, a force of 4,000 soldiers rounded up 400 residents and detained them at an air base seven miles north. An informer dressed in desert camouflage with a bag over his head had fingered at least 15 prisoners as they sat under a sweltering sun, their hands bound with plastic. Villagers said they soon recognized his yellow sandals and right thumb, which had been severed above the joint in an accident.

"We started yelling and shouting, 'That's Sabah! That's Sabah!' " said Mohammed Abu Dhua, who was held at the base for seven days and whose brother died of a heart attack during the operation. "We asked his father, 'Why is Sabah doing these things?' "

In the raid, three men and a 15-year-old boy were killed, all believed by villagers to have been innocent. Within days, many focused their ire on Kerbul, who had served a year in prison for impersonating a government official and was believed to have worked as an informer after he was released. Young children in the street recited a rhyme about him: "Masked man, your face is the face of the devil." Calls for revenge -- tempered by the fear of tribal bloodletting getting out of hand -- were heard in many conversations.

Kerbul's family said U.S. forces took him to Tikrit, then three weeks later, he went to stay with relatives across the Tigris in the village of Alim. As soon as word of his release spread, his brother Salah and uncle Suleiman went there to bring him back.

"We sent a message to his family," said Ali, a retired colonel whose brother was among those killed during the operation. "You have to kill your son. If you don't kill him, we will act against your family."

His father appealed, Ali recalled, saying he needed permission from U.S. forces.

"We told him we're not responsible for this," Ali said. "We told him you must kill your son."

Kerbul's body was buried hours after the shooting, his father said, carried to the cemetery in a white Toyota pickup. He said he and Kerbul's brother accompanied the corpse. Salah, his son who fired the fatal shots, said he stayed home.

Neither U.S. military officials in Thuluya nor Tikrit said they were aware of the killing.

"It's justice," said Abu Dhua, sitting at his home near a bend in the Tigris. "In my opinion, he deserves worse than death."



© 2003 The Washington Post Company


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