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Saturday, November 26, 2005
Georgians train, praise Iraqi troops
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Yusufiyah, Iraq — U.S. soldiers have nicknamed the young Iraqi private “Jackrabbit’ because of the speed with which he runs down insurgents.
Kadhum Hamad Dakhil boasts that he helped capture two Syrian insurgents in October. A few words of Arabic are scrawled on his desert tan boot: “No to Terrorism.”
“They are criminals, and we are chasing them until they die,” Dakhil, 25, said.
U.S. military advisers say Dakhil is among the bravest soldiers they have trained in the 4th Brigade of Iraq’s 6th Army Division, a unit based in this violent area known as the Triangle of Death.
The Iraqis are gutsy, the advisers say, because they patrol every day in civilian pickup trucks that offer little protection from insurgents’ roadside bombs.
Some Iraqi soldier have no body armor or helmets. Some have no bullets for their pistols. And often the insurgents are better armed. Since June 1, scores of 4th Brigade soldiers have been killed or wounded.
“If I could have Bronze Stars for these guys, they would have a bunch,” said Maj. Ray Bossert, 38, of Douglasville, who helped train Dakhil and other Iraqi soldiers for Georgia’s 48th Brigade Combat Team. “Just give them the right stuff, and they will go kick [butt].”
Bossert and other National Guard soldiers from Georgia, Alabama, Illinois and Missouri were among the trainers for Dakhil’s unit until October, when soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division took over.
Many of the trainees are from southern Iraq. They have come here to make a living. Their pay is roughly the equivalent of $300 U.S. a month, which is high in this rural community. But another reason they cite for joining the budding army is the defense of their country from foreign terrorists they call “Ali Baba.”
“Like a child yearns for Santa Claus, they yearn for a confrontation with Ali Baba,” said Sgt. Chris Hancock, 43, a police officer from De Soto, Mo., who reported to Bossert.
The Iraqi soldiers are good allies, U.S. soldiers say, because they speak the language, know the terrain and can quickly identify foreigners, many of whom turn out to be insurgents from Syria, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
“These guys know what to look for. They can tell just by talking to people where they are from,” said Lt. Col. Ben Sartain, 42, of Cleveland, Ga., who led the 48th Brigade’s training in this area south of Baghdad. “These guys get a piece of intelligence, and they are out of the gate.”
Dakhil was a self-employed street vendor and professional soccer player in the southern city of Basrah before joining the army. He hopes to get married and have children some day.
Even though he has not been paid in four months, he is still focused on fighting. Hundreds of other soldiers in his brigade have gone without pay just as long.
U.S. soldiers blame the problem on illegal recruiting practices. Con artists have been charging people to join the Army, leaving them with no paperwork certifying they are in the military.
“It’s taking advantage of the poor,” Sartain said. “Short of the Americans guaranteeing the system, there is nothing we can do about it.”
Even with the chronic payroll problems, Dakhil plans to remain in the army “all of my life.”
“This is my country and we are in charge of making people safe,” he said.
Like many other soldiers in his unit, Dakhil argues the U.S. military should remain in Iraq until it is stable. He predicts there will be more violence if the U.S. troops pull out too early.
“There will be blood. There will be killing and beheadings,” he said. “If the Americans go home, we will go home.”
Dakhil serves with two other men their Georgia advisers say are extremely courageous. They are Amjed Sa’ad Abais and his brother, Arshad. They are from the central Iraqi city of Hillah.
The brothers joined the same unit a year ago so they could be together. Both are first sergeants.
Amjed served in Saddam Hussein’s army for two years. When U.S. troops invaded Iraq in 2003, Amjed said, he handed his weapon to his commander and said of Saddam, “Let him go to hell.”
Amjed said he got in trouble for cursing Saddam once before in 2002.
He said Saddam’s regime threw him in jail for six months and whipped him 150 times. He shrugs off the punishment.
“Six months is like a holiday,” said Amjed, 24, who is married with a 7-month-old daughter.
“Others have spent 20 years or 25 years in jail. What about them?”
His 19-year-old brother, Arshad, said he missed him while he was in jail.
“I was worried. I didn’t know where he was,” Arshad said.
Arshad continues to worry about his older brother now that they are fighting insurgents. But Arshad said he doesn’t let his fears distract him from his duty.
