thedrifter
07-05-06, 07:56 AM
July 5, 2006, 12:43AM
Surrounded Marines plan to clear Ramadi
Bulldozing the Sunni stronghold's town center could fend off insurgents
By DEXTER FILKINS
New York Times
RAMADI, IRAQ - The Government Center in the middle of this devastated town resembles a fortress on the wild edge of some frontier: It is sandbagged, barricaded, full of men ready to shoot, surrounded by rubble and enemies eager to get inside.
The U.S. Marines here live eight to a room, rarely shower for lack of running water and defecate in bags that are taken outside and burned. The threat of snipers is ever present; the Marines start running the moment they step outside. Daytime temperatures hover around 120 degrees; most foot patrols have been canceled because of the risk of heatstroke.
The food is tasteless, the windows boarded up. The place reeks of urine and too many bodies pressed too close together for too long.
And the casualties are heavy. Asked about the wounded under his command, Capt. Andrew Del Gaudio, 30, of the Bronx, rattled off a few.
"Let's see, Lance Cpl. Tussey, shot in the thigh.
"Lance Cpl. Zimmerman, shot in the leg.
"Lance Cpl. Sardinas, shrapnel, hit in the face.
"Lance Cpl. Wilson, shrapnel in the throat.
"That's all I can think of right now," the captain said.
Green Zone of protection
So it goes in Ramadi, the epicenter of the Iraqi insurgency and the focus of a grinding struggle between U.S. forces and the guerrillas. In three years here the Marines and the Army have tried nearly everything to bring this provincial capital of 400,000 under control. Nothing has worked.
Now American commanders are trying something new. Instead of continuing to fight for the downtown, or rebuild it, they are going to get rid of it, or at least a very large part of it.
They say they are planning to bulldoze about three blocks in the middle of the city, part of which has been reduced to ruins by the fighting, and convert them into a Green Zone, a version of the fortified and largely stable area that houses the Iraqi and American leadership in Baghdad.
The idea is to break the bloody stalemate in the city by ending the struggle over the battle-scarred provincial headquarters that the insurgents assault nearly every day. The Government Center will remain, but the empty space around it will deny the guerrillas cover to attack.
Ramadi, a largely Sunni Arab city, is regarded by American commanders as the key to securing Anbar province, now the single deadliest place for American soldiers in Iraq.
While the focus in Baghdad and other large Iraqi cities may be reconciliation or the political process, here it is still war. Sometimes the Government Center is assaulted by as many as 100 insurgents at a time.
The Marines have held on, but the fighting has transformed the area into an ocean of ruin.
Last week, a midnight gunbattle between a group of insurgents and Marines lasted two hours and ended only when the Americans dropped a laser-guided bomb on an already half-destroyed building downtown. Six Marines were wounded; it was unclear what happened to the insurgents.
"We go out and kill these people," said Del Gaudio. "I define success as continuing to kill the enemy to allow the government to work and for the Iraqi army to take over."
Trying to capture loyalty
In the end, whether the Americans can succeed in bringing security to Ramadi will depend on how much support they get from ordinary Iraqis.
The Marines seem far less aggressive than they were during their earlier tours here, when the priority was killing insurgents. Now they seem much more interested in capturing the loyalty of the residents.
Ellie
Surrounded Marines plan to clear Ramadi
Bulldozing the Sunni stronghold's town center could fend off insurgents
By DEXTER FILKINS
New York Times
RAMADI, IRAQ - The Government Center in the middle of this devastated town resembles a fortress on the wild edge of some frontier: It is sandbagged, barricaded, full of men ready to shoot, surrounded by rubble and enemies eager to get inside.
The U.S. Marines here live eight to a room, rarely shower for lack of running water and defecate in bags that are taken outside and burned. The threat of snipers is ever present; the Marines start running the moment they step outside. Daytime temperatures hover around 120 degrees; most foot patrols have been canceled because of the risk of heatstroke.
The food is tasteless, the windows boarded up. The place reeks of urine and too many bodies pressed too close together for too long.
And the casualties are heavy. Asked about the wounded under his command, Capt. Andrew Del Gaudio, 30, of the Bronx, rattled off a few.
"Let's see, Lance Cpl. Tussey, shot in the thigh.
"Lance Cpl. Zimmerman, shot in the leg.
"Lance Cpl. Sardinas, shrapnel, hit in the face.
"Lance Cpl. Wilson, shrapnel in the throat.
"That's all I can think of right now," the captain said.
Green Zone of protection
So it goes in Ramadi, the epicenter of the Iraqi insurgency and the focus of a grinding struggle between U.S. forces and the guerrillas. In three years here the Marines and the Army have tried nearly everything to bring this provincial capital of 400,000 under control. Nothing has worked.
Now American commanders are trying something new. Instead of continuing to fight for the downtown, or rebuild it, they are going to get rid of it, or at least a very large part of it.
They say they are planning to bulldoze about three blocks in the middle of the city, part of which has been reduced to ruins by the fighting, and convert them into a Green Zone, a version of the fortified and largely stable area that houses the Iraqi and American leadership in Baghdad.
The idea is to break the bloody stalemate in the city by ending the struggle over the battle-scarred provincial headquarters that the insurgents assault nearly every day. The Government Center will remain, but the empty space around it will deny the guerrillas cover to attack.
Ramadi, a largely Sunni Arab city, is regarded by American commanders as the key to securing Anbar province, now the single deadliest place for American soldiers in Iraq.
While the focus in Baghdad and other large Iraqi cities may be reconciliation or the political process, here it is still war. Sometimes the Government Center is assaulted by as many as 100 insurgents at a time.
The Marines have held on, but the fighting has transformed the area into an ocean of ruin.
Last week, a midnight gunbattle between a group of insurgents and Marines lasted two hours and ended only when the Americans dropped a laser-guided bomb on an already half-destroyed building downtown. Six Marines were wounded; it was unclear what happened to the insurgents.
"We go out and kill these people," said Del Gaudio. "I define success as continuing to kill the enemy to allow the government to work and for the Iraqi army to take over."
Trying to capture loyalty
In the end, whether the Americans can succeed in bringing security to Ramadi will depend on how much support they get from ordinary Iraqis.
The Marines seem far less aggressive than they were during their earlier tours here, when the priority was killing insurgents. Now they seem much more interested in capturing the loyalty of the residents.
Ellie