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Monday, March 17, 2008
Wanted: A few good men
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Patrol Base Hawks - Tariq Abdullah Ali jumps up to grab the pull-up bars. After struggling through a handful, he hits the ground for 20 sit-ups and 10 pushups and then takes off for a 100-meter dash on bed of gravel.
Ali wants to become an Iraqi policeman.
There are none in Arab Jabour, a poor Sunni district that lies a few miles southeast of Baghdad. A few months ago, the area was overwhelmed by terrorism. But a partnership between Georgia-based soldiers and a local militia called the Sons of Iraq has led to a radical transformation.
Now, Arab Jabour is struggling to regain normalcy. High on the agenda is a police force to maintain security.
About 800 men line up at the gates of Patrol Base Hawks for the four-day recruitment drive. Several had to be turned away as the last day ended.
U.S. soldiers assist in the drive, providing a place to set up several tents in which potential recruits filled out applications that included a denunciation of the Ba’ath Party and went through various sets of tests.
The vetting process includes retinal scans to make sure applicants were not wanted men.
Capt. Michael Fritz of 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, says three applicants “came up hot in the computer system” on the last day of the drive. “You can never guarantee a hundred percent but we have pour bird dogs,” he says.
In Iraq, where insurgents roam among the population, it’s difficult to pick out good from evil. The Americans use informants known as “bird dogs” to identify insurgents. On this day, they are roaming the American military compound - undetected, unknown.
Ali, 19, passes his medical and physical tests. He is eager to wear the blue uniform of the Iraqi police.
“I want to disprove to the Iraqi people that all Sunnis are bad,” he says. “We are not all terrorists. I want security for my people.”
Several of the applicants, including Mohammed Yarob, say they want to join the police because of the money - that salary averages $500 a month, according to Maj. Mohammed Abdullah.
Yarob, 21, cannot provide for his family selling fruits and vegetables anymore.
“There are few jobs here,” he says. “I have to do something.”
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