Word: ghazaliya
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...just like a blanket overlying all of these reasons, the primary reason for complicity is fear," Brooks adds. U.S. commanders hope that a constant presence of Americans in neighborhoods such as Ghazaliya, rather than simply driving through, will make it harder for insurgents to maintain their grip on the population. Says Brooks, "I'm going to specifically target the enemy's intimidation campaign...
...After his first day walking house-to-house, Brooks said he had gathered no intelligence about the insurgency in Ghazaliya. But that wasn't the point. "I'm not looking for an immediate payoff," he said. "[I'm looking] to influence the population so that they aren't complicit with the insurgency, so if they do have good information, they'll call...
...fact, there seems to be more hostility in Ghazaliya's Sunni districts towards the Shi'ite-dominated Iraqi security forces than mistrust of the U.S. Residents told Brooks stories of fear and intimidation - a mother who drives her son everywhere for fear that a lone young man with an obviously Sunni first name will disappear at a checkpoint; an old man who accused the Iraqi Army of murdering his son; a shopkeeper who said children swarm around American soldiers on patrol but scatter at the approach of the Iraqi Army...
...current Iraqi battalion commander in south Ghazaliya, Col. Jabar, has a much better reputation here than his predecessor. He comes from Basra, whereas his predecessor, Col. Sabah, grew up in a Shi'ite neighborhood adjacent to Ghazaliya. Both men are Shi'ites, but Jabar has no personal stake in Ghazaliya...
...area soon, to be replaced by a unit run by one of his prot?g?s. But beyond the fairness and effectiveness of individual Iraqi units is the political reality of a Shi'ite-dominated government that sends Shi'ite soldiers, some of dubious affiliation, to operate in dangerous Sunni neighborhoods. Ghazaliya is calmer now because Sunnis are putting their faith in the U.S. military, a force destined to leave as soon as it possibly can. When the Americans are gone, however, the mistrust between Iraqis will remain...