MAHMUDIYAH, IRAQ: The ‘rush’ is on as soldiers of Alpha Battery, 215 Field Artillery, tonight operating as infantry, board four Blackhawk Helicopters on the pad here in Mahmudiyah, Iraq. They are accompanied by a dozen Iraqi Army troops. It’s 1:00 am. and pitch black; the time and condition preferred for this type of aerial assault. Two Kiowa attack helicopters will be following the Blackhawks to the target, and continue circling above to provide extra firepower if needed.
‘We’re after two Al Qaida operatives and intelligence is showing them at the house where we’ll be landing.’ said Lt. Britt Cleavland, leader of tonight’s operation. ‘We’ve driven most Al Qaida operatives down river, south of our area of operations. The two we hope to capture tonight are part of a mortar team that’s been firing on US troops.’
The four Blackhawks depart with their loads and pass noisily, but unseen, over and beyond the southwest fringe of Baghdad. They are completely blacked out, with pilots and gunners using night vision goggles as the hot, night air is blasted inside through the open doors on each side.
As the small fleet of choppers land, the men quickly leap to the ground and rush towards the house in question. Gunfire blasts the lock off the front door and the troopers quickly enter each room, a number climbing to the roof where most Iraqi’s sleep this time of year.
The rooms downstairs are quickly upended, furniture torn apart, appliances opened and toppled. Glass can be heard breaking in most rooms. A cache of AK-47 clips and ammo is discovered behind a china cabinet. No suspects are found.
Lt. Cleaveland shouts from the roof. ‘There are three frightened women and some kids up here with the lookouts, no one else. I’m coming down with five suspects.’
Farm youths detained in raided farm house.
Some Iraqi Army soldiers grab them on the way down and have them kneeling against the wall in short order. Questioning begins and answers are given in Arabic with no conclusive results. The Iraqi troops are persistent. They begin another round using more forceful methods, and are given the same answers. It may be that these guys are just farm boys trying to get a good a night’s sleep.
An older man is brought in from the outside. He’s wearing a white gown, is quite tall and robust He is not cowed by these men with guns who have just trashed his house, however he gives a worried glance toward the young men kneeling against the wall, his sons. He ends up kneeling along side of his sons and is quite vocal and forcefull explaining the situation to the Iraqi troops.
Iraqi father being questioned by Iraqi Army troops in raided farm house.
One of the boys suddenly keels over in some kind of spasm. Another explains he has a condition and needs his medicine. With some difficulty it’s eventually located among the toppled and broken furniture. The sick youth comes around and the room breaths a sigh of relief, soldiers as well as family.
It’s determined that three of the boys, along with three older men rounded up in the neighborhood, will be brought in for further questioning. The father is left there to care for his son. The choppers return, landing in a field across from the canal next to the house and the prisoners are loaded in on the floor between the troops.
Troops waiting for choppers, Lt. Cleavland on left.
Three neighboring men taken prisoner.
From the expression of fear on the faces of the residents in that farm house along the Said Abdullah corridor and from the look of hatred in their eyes; it’s highly likely that these American soldiers while performing their duties under the most difficult of circumstances, using great restraint, have made life long enemies for the United States of the farmers who inhabit this farming community.
*A version of this article was published in the Press Republican on October 13, 2007.
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