.A Bridge Too Far
This blog is part of a series of posts providing updates on a reporter’s embed with Marines in Ramadi.
FORWARD OPERATING BASE TASH, Iraq — Capt. Ali Muhammad Mater, a member of the Iraqi provisional security forces, had a dilemma, and on Wednesday he drove 20 minutes to visit the commanding officer of the Marines base here outside Ramadi to seek a solution.
The American military continues to repeat the mantra of seeking “Iraqi solutions to Iraqi problems” but in practice Iraqis continue to rely on the U.S. to fix small problems that would normally be handled by local government officials. And the Americans continue to provide solutions to the larger problems like training Iraqi security forces and targeting insurgents.
Although the Iraq Army and police forces have made strides in the past year, none of the Americans or Iraqis I interviewed here said they were ready to handle the situation on their own.
And so Captain Mater sought out Capt. Brian O’Shea, the commanding officer of E Company, First Regimental Combat Team, Second Battalion, Ninth Marines. Meeting inside the Iraqi police station connected to the Marines forward operating base here, Captain Mater, a member of the Iraqi provincial security forces, began by asking for a female police searcher.
Captain Mater oversees al-Alwa bridge and is supposed to stop anyone from crossing except the Iraqi security forces, the American military and a school bus for local children. Other traffic is channeled through nearby checkpoints.
After a few minutes back and forth through an interpreter (language problems make solving the disputes more complicated), it became clear that an Iraqi woman, with no proper identification, claimed to have the permission of the American military to cross the bridge on foot.
“We can’t search her because she is female,” Captain Mater said. The U.S. military said they have female searchers at the nearby checkpoints instead.
For Captain O’Shea it was an easy and obvious solution: you don’t need to search her because she can’t cross. Without a badge she is considered a civilian. “These are not Captain O’Shea’s rules, these are General Tariq’s rules,” the commanding officer of E Company said. Brig. Gen. Tariq Yusif Muhammad Abu Dhiyab is in charge of all the Iraqi police in Anbar province.
Captain Mater still wasn’t convinced. “Are we going to find out if you give her permission to cross the bridge or not?”
“Of course,” Captain O’Shea assured him. “You’ll be the first to find out.”
It is telling that an Iraqi civilian invoked the American military to get past an Iraqi guard, and the Iraqi guard went to the American military instead of an Iraqi commander to seek an answer.
Captain O’Shea said he is trying to instill more self-reliance in the Iraqi police he works with every day. “General Tariq’s rules are important. So I’m going to follow his rules.”
The episode with the woman on the bridge was a microcosm of the overall issue — who has what powers — as the two nations thrash out a security pact. The United Nations resolution that allows the American military to operate here is set to expire on Dec. 31. U.S. military officials say they would be unable to operate in Iraq next year unless such an agreement is reached.
If the U.S. military were really willing to cede control to Iraqi forces on every issue, then negotiating a security pact between the two countries would be a much simpler process.
Baghdad Bureau
FORWARD OPERATING BASE TASH, Iraq — Capt. Ali Muhammad Mater, a member of the Iraqi provisional security forces, had a dilemma, and on Wednesday he drove 20 minutes to visit the commanding officer of the Marines base here outside Ramadi to seek a solution.
The American military continues to repeat the mantra of seeking “Iraqi solutions to Iraqi problems” but in practice Iraqis continue to rely on the U.S. to fix small problems that would normally be handled by local government officials. And the Americans continue to provide solutions to the larger problems like training Iraqi security forces and targeting insurgents.
Although the Iraq Army and police forces have made strides in the past year, none of the Americans or Iraqis I interviewed here said they were ready to handle the situation on their own.
And so Captain Mater sought out Capt. Brian O’Shea, the commanding officer of E Company, First Regimental Combat Team, Second Battalion, Ninth Marines. Meeting inside the Iraqi police station connected to the Marines forward operating base here, Captain Mater, a member of the Iraqi provincial security forces, began by asking for a female police searcher.
Captain Mater oversees al-Alwa bridge and is supposed to stop anyone from crossing except the Iraqi security forces, the American military and a school bus for local children. Other traffic is channeled through nearby checkpoints.
After a few minutes back and forth through an interpreter (language problems make solving the disputes more complicated), it became clear that an Iraqi woman, with no proper identification, claimed to have the permission of the American military to cross the bridge on foot.
“We can’t search her because she is female,” Captain Mater said. The U.S. military said they have female searchers at the nearby checkpoints instead.
For Captain O’Shea it was an easy and obvious solution: you don’t need to search her because she can’t cross. Without a badge she is considered a civilian. “These are not Captain O’Shea’s rules, these are General Tariq’s rules,” the commanding officer of E Company said. Brig. Gen. Tariq Yusif Muhammad Abu Dhiyab is in charge of all the Iraqi police in Anbar province.
Captain Mater still wasn’t convinced. “Are we going to find out if you give her permission to cross the bridge or not?”
“Of course,” Captain O’Shea assured him. “You’ll be the first to find out.”
It is telling that an Iraqi civilian invoked the American military to get past an Iraqi guard, and the Iraqi guard went to the American military instead of an Iraqi commander to seek an answer.
Captain O’Shea said he is trying to instill more self-reliance in the Iraqi police he works with every day. “General Tariq’s rules are important. So I’m going to follow his rules.”
The episode with the woman on the bridge was a microcosm of the overall issue — who has what powers — as the two nations thrash out a security pact. The United Nations resolution that allows the American military to operate here is set to expire on Dec. 31. U.S. military officials say they would be unable to operate in Iraq next year unless such an agreement is reached.
If the U.S. military were really willing to cede control to Iraqi forces on every issue, then negotiating a security pact between the two countries would be a much simpler process.
Baghdad Bureau
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