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thedrifter
02-20-06, 07:43 AM
Atop Anbar government headquarters, Marines defend one of Iraq's most targeted buildings

By: ANTONIO CASTANEDA - Associated Press

RAMADI, Iraq ---- In a carpeted office filled with oversized gold embroidered chairs, the governor of troubled Anbar province talked about his region's sagging infrastructure ---- over the rattle of machine-gun fire and the thud of grenade launchers reverberating from the roof.

Gov. Maamoun Sami Rashid al-Alwani seemed almost oblivious to the commotion as U.S. Marines in firing positions lined with sandbags and bulletproof glass blasted away at an insurgent trying to plant a roadside bomb nearby.

The government center is a favorite target in this city at the center of Iraq's insurgency and dozens of Marines from the 3rd Battalion, 7th Regiment live in one wing to fend off the frequent attacks.

Four Anbar governors have served in less than three years. One was assassinated, another resigned after surviving an attack and two, including the current one, have had sons kidnapped. Recently, local tribal leaders who have met with U.S. commanders have been killed.

Marines posted on the roof have to stay sharp.

When their lieutenant approaches, they immediately pause and shout out five things: their name and rank, their gun's lateral limits, the direction their gun is facing, guidelines to fire, and any nearby friendly units. The idea is to make sure they are alert at all times.

"Honestly, sir, it's kind of a pleasure because it's not something that everybody can say ---- that they helped build a government," Lance Cpl. Brandon Crusha of Yukon, Okla., told a reporter as he glanced away from a desolate street.

Marines said the pace of combat around the building has slowed since the beginning of their tour last summer, but it can flare up at any moment and wears on them.

"I'd be happy to go home and not shoot one more round. You can't go home and talk to your buddies about shooting people. It's not a subject that most people talk about," said Lance Cpl. Jeff Barrient.

"To see people die, your friends get hurt over seven months, it can't be explained unless you've been here," Barrient, 21, of Salinas, added, speaking in a cold, tiled room filled with bunkbeds as the Muslim call to prayer echoed from mosques down the street. "The actual price we've paid to help this country out ---- it's unexplainable."

Barrient spoke just minutes after a Marine radioed that a man had managed to elude fire and sprint away after dropping off a black backpack. Later it was found to contain an anti-tank mine.

An hour later, another report came in about a man with a rocket-propelled grenade launcher who had jumped out and tried to fire at the government center.

"There's a lot of foot traffic and civilians running around," said Lance Cpl. Ruben Valles, 21, of San Jose, who periodically volunteers to work shifts on the roof. "Sometimes they'll try to be discreet and throw a box down and move it in place with an attached string."

The neighborhood around the government center in central Ramadi is testament to the combat between U.S. troops and insurgents.

Virtually every shop on the adjacent street is closed, alongside abandoned multistory buildings where insurgent snipers often lurk. Thousands of bullet holes pepper buildings, and several nearby structures have the walls of entire floors blown out, exposing support beams.

The nearby Rashid Hotel, once a favorite spot for gunmen, was recently destroyed by a U.S. airstrike.

A health complex to the south, another common post for insurgents, exhibits heavy damage.

"There's a lot of good people and doctors out there, but the insurgents go in there and bully them around," said 2nd Lt. Jordan Reese of Rockfield, Ill. He said Marines often have to search the hospital when pursuing gunmen.

Some aspects of life for townspeople continue near normal. Insurgents took note of a school to the west of the government center and rarely fire there. A few blocks away, the narrow streets of the local market are busy with customers.

Only one man, nicknamed "Mr. Wilson" by the Marines who watch from the rooftop day and night, still lives near the government center. Marines said he stops his car as he approaches the building, waves to signal he is coming through, then proceeds to his house.

The adjacent streets have suffered. A nearby intersection, known as checkpoint 295, is a common spot where roadside bombs are laid. A police station abandoned last year by Iraqi officers amid a wave of insurgent attacks is now manned by Marines.

The U.S. military has started a program to clean up the neighborhood, but Iraqi workers who pick up rubble and trash work only in the gloom of night and still need U.S. guards. Gunmen fired on them recently but caused no injuries.

"We try to help the Iraqi people out as much as we can. We wish they'd help us out a little more," Barrient said.

Inside offices once used by municipal workers, Marines sleep on bunkbeds in dimly lit rooms. During a reporter's afternoon visit, Marines cleaned their weapons in a murky hall while listening to Creedence Clearwater Revival songs.

Marines manning rooftop posts stands shifts that last from four to 12 hours. Some said they have grown to know the Marines they share roof duty with so well that they can predict their movements and identify them by their silhouettes.

Other spoke of night shifts where they fought to stay awake.

"Getting complacent is the wrong thing to do up there ---- you close your eyes and you could be dead," Barrient said.

Ellie