Dragon Soup: Front page of USA Today reports: 75% of Baghdad Secure
Colonel Ricky Gibbs, commander of the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, talks to Iraqi children in the Masafee neighborhood of East Rashid, Baghdad during a recent visit there. (U.S. Army photo by Maj. Kirk Luedeke, 4IBCT Public Affairs)
Kudos to USA Today reporter Jim Michaels, whose front page story in the Jan. 18-20 edition of the paper reports that 75% of Baghdad’s neighborhoods are secure as opposed to just 8% exactly one year earlier.
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This is an important story because it quantifies the progress that has been gaining momentum in mainstream media reporting since General David Petraeus issued his Iraq War progress report to the House and Senate back in September.
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My boss, Colonel Ricky Gibbs, commander of the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division stationed here in Southern Baghdad, was interviewed for the story and I sat in on the telephonic interview he conducted with Michaels. Here are some points that didn’t make the final cut in the story, but provide further context for Michaels’ fair and accurate reporting:
- One of the key reasons for the surge was that there simply weren’t enough “boots on the ground” to do what needed to be done to secure the people and ensure that essential services were provided.
- Even when our brigade arrived in Feb. 2007 and began operations in Mar., our Soldiers were walking down the streets and either getting ambushed or having improvised explosive devices (IEDs) detonated on them. If you were operating anywhere in the Rashid District, it wasn’t a matter of “if” you were attacked, but “when.”
- In Jan. 2007, prior to our arrival, there were 553 Iraqi bodies found district-wide that were attributed to sectarian-related murders (ie- they had their hands tied and were shot in the head, or other similarly gruesome murder methods). By Dec., the number of bodies found closed out at 37, a significant reduction and indicator of the reduced influence of the militias believed to be responsible for such acts of violence. As of Jan. 26, there have been just 13 bodies found across the district this month believed to be a result of sectarian-related violence. Just think: exactly one year ago, that total was more than 500…this year, we might make it out of January with fewer than 20 total. Progress? You tell me…
- From Apr. to Oct. 2007, our brigade was involved in heavy fighting- taking the battle to the al Qaeda and Shia extremists in Rashid.
- In May, we went on the offensive, initiating clearing operations as part of Operation Dragon Fire West and East, before shifting focus to Doura in July with Operation Dragon Hammer, which broke the back of Al Qaeda operating there. Our unit has captured more than 2,000 extremists in Rashid in the nearly one year we’ve been on the ground, with more than 300 of those being suspected leaders, organizers and financiers of the various terrorist cells we’ve fought.
- After Oct., our focus has been less on security and more on restoring essential services. Especially noteworthy is the performance of the brigade’s captains/company commanders who have served as town mayors and town policemen in working to improve quality of life for the Iraqis living in their respective areas.
- In many cases, our forces are seen as the government by the locals. While that trust and faith in our Soldiers is a sign of progress, our real goal is for the actual Iraqi Government to provide the services and security for the people here. The majority of our efforts are going towards getting the GoI to establish the systems and resources required to provide those services and maintain long-term stability and sustainable security by having a trained, equipped and effective police force.
The article is an important one because it demonstrates that the situation is clearly improved, even if there is still much to be done.
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It is often hard to quantify the security gains, but Michaels has effectively done it. The only thing I wish we could have done for him would have been to take him down Airplane Road in Dora and let him meet Lt. Col. James Crider, Majors Paul Callahan and Tim Baer, Capts. Nicholas Cook, J.J. Simonsen, Shane Sandretto and Bret Hamilton, as well as the other heroes of the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment “Raiders” who have taken this amazingly dangerous and complex situation and turned it around.
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And, we’re not the only ones who have taken note of Michaels’ story. Just yesterday, Republican presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain mentioned it while campaigning in South Carolina.
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The area is by no means completely secure, and two Rashid neighborhoods are areas that we still consider “hotspots,” but by and large, life is significantly better and we’re attempting to apply the models for progress in Airplane Road and East Rashid everywhere we operate. It will take time, but the long-term benefits are worth it.
The area is by no means completely secure, and two Rashid neighborhoods are areas that we still consider “hotspots,” but by and large, life is significantly better and we’re attempting to apply the models for progress in Airplane Road and East Rashid everywhere we operate. It will take time, but the long-term benefits are worth it.
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TIME magazine’s Daniel Pepper has been with 1-4 CAV and filed two reports on his observations. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions, but as we move forward in 2008, we feel confident that we can continue the momentum forward, thanks to the heroism and sacrifices of our nation’s armed forces:
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Additional reading:
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Witness: Pierre Rehov is a French Algerian filmmaker who recently embedded with our 1-4 CAV here in Baghdad. The accompanying photos are of our cavalrymen and Mr. Rehov makes some very good points about the situation as of January, 2008. It’s not the easiest read, but Rehov speaks from the heart and calls it as he sees it. He will be releasing a documentary film using the material he gathered in Masafee sometime in 2009.
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Boro native gets medal for his service in Iraq: New Jersey’s Staff Sgt. Travis Platt earned the nickname “The IED Hunter” while serving as a platoon sergeant in the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry “Warriors”, attached to Task Force Dragon. Platt’s experience and “sixth sense” resulted in his unit finding numerous roadside bombs and killing or capturing those emplacing them during its 14-month combat tour. The battalion, which has since re-deployed to its home station of Fort Carson, Colo., fought Al Qaeda tooth and nail in Doura and prevailed. Platt is just one of many heroes in that unit, 18 of who made the ultimate sacrifice.
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Lieutenant colonel Greg Gadson is Giants’ inspirational co-captain: Lt. Col. Gadson was Patriot 6, one of our battalion commanders, and I was with him the night he was wounded- one of the darkest days of our deployment as I had no sooner honored two fallen Soldiers than moments later, was helping to carry the gravely wounded Gadson into our clinic, where our brigade surgeon saved his life. We all miss him, and I do have to say that there is irony in the fact that the Giant’s honorary co-captain’s Army callsign was “Patriot.” If that’s not a sign (for Super Bowl XLII) I don’t know what is. Keep the tissues handy when you read this great article by Granite State native Mike Lupica.
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A small town mourns its big sacrifice: Sgts Blair and House were not in my brigade, but were part of Multi-National Division-Baghdad (1st Cavalry Division) and ultimately two of more than 400 Soldiers in the 20,000-plus division who were killed in action during the troop surge of 2007. Our Soldiers have sacrificed so much for this war, and I am humbled when I think of all the families and towns across our great nation with similar stories to tell like Lee, Maine.
A small town mourns its big sacrifice: Sgts Blair and House were not in my brigade, but were part of Multi-National Division-Baghdad (1st Cavalry Division) and ultimately two of more than 400 Soldiers in the 20,000-plus division who were killed in action during the troop surge of 2007. Our Soldiers have sacrificed so much for this war, and I am humbled when I think of all the families and towns across our great nation with similar stories to tell like Lee, Maine.
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Oh, and one more thing: GO PATRIOTS!!!!!
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Major Kirk
Baghdad
01-26-2008
Baghdad
01-26-2008
