Word: kaadam
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Pleasantries have barely been exchanged - the tea hasn't even been served - before Haji Kaadam Jabbar Hamsa al-Qarghuli lets Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Rohling have it. "I am very angry," says the leader of one of the area's Qarghuli tribes to the commander of the U.S. Army unit in charge of the area surrounding the town of Yusufiyah, which is about 10 miles south of Baghdad. "We are trying to work together," he says, "but dignity comes first...
...accusations and recriminations. Convinced that the Sons of Iraq were to blame for lax security, if not for active participation in the plot, Captain Sertani's men fanned out immediately after the blast, roughing up Sons of Iraq members and hauling several into hours of custody. This, Haji Kaadam insisted to the American colonel, was an affront. "If there is an IED or an armed attack, that is our responsibility," he says. "But a lone woman? That is out of our hands. Yet the Iraqi Army came down here and began hitting our people, blaming them." Without ruling out that...
...escalate, making sure everyone is seeking answers, not vengeance. "This week has been about throwing a wet blanket on things, just trying to calm everyone down," says Major Bill Kuttler, the unit's operations officer. Today, Colonel Rohling has arrived with the wet blanket in full effect, telling Haji Kaadam that the soldiers reacted strongly because they loved their commander, but the Iraqi Army commander realizes "seeking justice does not involve trampling on the rights of the Qarghuli people...
...rounds today, whether Qarghuli or Iraqi Army, affirms that life is better now than it was even a few months ago, and they pledge that peace will be maintained. But tensions, distrust and resentments roil beneath the surface, and they can erupt quickly and intensely. Haji Kaadam says Iraqi Army vehicles scream past his checkpoints at reckless speeds and says some Army officers have been demanding that the Sons of Iraq salute them. The Iraqi Army officers, meanwhile, sneer that the Sons of Iraq are either incapable of maintaining security or, worse, provide it selectively...
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