Word: vistek
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...Marine Corporal Ryan Vistek considered himself a war-hardened veteran. In 2004, he fought against Moqtada al-Sadr's militia when it staged an uprising in several parts of Iraq. But sometimes experience no longer counts as lessons learned. Before he deployed to Iraq for the second time earlier this year, he and other Iraq combat veterans were pulled aside and told - essentially - to forget everything they'd learned...
...mission for Marines like Vistek is to act less as warriors and more as policemen and goodwill ambassadors. In al Qaim, a community of farmers and merchants along Iraq's border with Syria, the Marines have been employing a classic counter-insurgency strategy since the end of 2005. The emphasis here has shifted from hunting down and destroying the enemy to providing security in al Qaim's cities and villages. Capt. Luke Gové, Vistek's company commander, said the Marines are the best-trained and best-equipped force in the area. He asks rhetorically, "Are we the best force...
...Vistek the new approach has meant "a lot of responsibility that the pay grade has never really had before." In al Qaim, he says Marines are now tasked with such community outreach at the rank-and-file level and with every contact with Iraqi civilians. Says Vistek: "The responsibility went from, 'oh, that's on the [lieutenant]' to, 'Holy s---, my [unit's] responsible for three patrols a day? Wow.'" That new function combined with the old but still necessary task of fighting insurgents can be overwhelming. Gove, like other Marine commanders in al Qaim, is mindful that he risks...
...Qaim, foreign jihadists not too long ago antagonized local Sunni tribal leaders; and now the Americans have used that local history to win cooperation from the same maligned tribes, recruiting personnel for the Iraqi army and police. "It's in our best interest to train them and trust them," Vistek says. "We've got their back whether they know it or not. We just hope that they'll return the favor...
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