thedrifter
03-05-03, 08:40 AM
March 04, 2003
As U.S. gears for war with Iraq, Marines prepare to deal with Iraqi civilians
By Alexander Zavis
Associated Press
IN THE KUWAITI DESERT — Pacing up and down, Maj. Mark Stainbrook fires questions at some 50 Marines sitting in rows under a billowing tent in a wind-swept desert camp.
It’s dusk and a crowd of people is approaching their position, he tells them. What do they do? What if villagers bring them an injured child? Or what if a humanitarian organization asks for help getting food to hungry Iraqis?
As the United States gears up for a possible war with Iraq, forces massing in neighboring Kuwait are getting training on how to deal with the millions of civilians they are likely to meet on the road north to Baghdad if President Bush orders them to go to war.
“We are not there to take over Iraq. We are there to free the people, and in a sense give them their country back,” Stainbrook, of the 3rd Civil Affairs Group, tells Monday’s class. “How, afterward, we are going to get these people to work with each other and with us is going to be the result of what we do now.”
While Marines are spending much of their time in drills aimed at staying fit and ready for war, Civil Affairs units are attached to every regiment, advising them how to balance their military objectives with legal and moral obligations toward civilians. They instruct Marines on how to handle war crimes and liaise with aid groups, among other things.
For many Marines in Kuwait — many of them on their first major deployment — this is the first training they have received in such issues.
“They train in a kind of sterile environment, sometimes, and don’t get to interact a lot with civilians,” says Stainbrook, 34, from Los Angeles.
But what they lack in training, he says, they make up for in other ways.
“They have good hearts, they are smart, and they have common sense,” he says. “They mostly come to the right answers with very little prodding from me.”
Monday’s class was attended by military police, drivers, mechanics and other members of the Combat Services Support Battalion 10, who can expect to have regular dealings with Iraqis as they man checkpoints, collect prisoners and drive supplies to troops in the field.
When confronted with civilian casualties, or aid groups trying to reach hungry villagers, Stainbrook advises them to help to the extent they can — but reminds them they are only obligated to take care of people in their custody.
Many of the Marines’ questions are about differentiating combatants from civilians in a conflict they fear could prompt Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to use his people as human shields.
“As MPs, we’re used to dealing with prisoners of war, so we understand that pretty well,” says Lance Cpl. Orlando Torrez, 24, from Dunkirk, N.Y. “But when civilians are coming at you, that’s a whole different thing.”
Stainbrook advises them to use common sense. Watch out for the person who stands out, he tells them — the man in the bulky jacket on a hot, summer day, or the one dressed like a farmer whose hands are smooth and clean.
“Yes, it will be difficult to do that in a quick-paced environment, but they will have the training to identify what the threats are,” he says of his students.
But at least some aren’t so sure.
“It’s going to be scary out there,” says Lance Cpl. Artie Clinger, 23, from Clarion, Penn. “When things are hectic, you’re just going to be like, ’Whose this? Whose this?’ You aren’t going to know until they shoot you.”
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Copyright 2003 The Associated Press.
Sempers,
Roger
As U.S. gears for war with Iraq, Marines prepare to deal with Iraqi civilians
By Alexander Zavis
Associated Press
IN THE KUWAITI DESERT — Pacing up and down, Maj. Mark Stainbrook fires questions at some 50 Marines sitting in rows under a billowing tent in a wind-swept desert camp.
It’s dusk and a crowd of people is approaching their position, he tells them. What do they do? What if villagers bring them an injured child? Or what if a humanitarian organization asks for help getting food to hungry Iraqis?
As the United States gears up for a possible war with Iraq, forces massing in neighboring Kuwait are getting training on how to deal with the millions of civilians they are likely to meet on the road north to Baghdad if President Bush orders them to go to war.
“We are not there to take over Iraq. We are there to free the people, and in a sense give them their country back,” Stainbrook, of the 3rd Civil Affairs Group, tells Monday’s class. “How, afterward, we are going to get these people to work with each other and with us is going to be the result of what we do now.”
While Marines are spending much of their time in drills aimed at staying fit and ready for war, Civil Affairs units are attached to every regiment, advising them how to balance their military objectives with legal and moral obligations toward civilians. They instruct Marines on how to handle war crimes and liaise with aid groups, among other things.
For many Marines in Kuwait — many of them on their first major deployment — this is the first training they have received in such issues.
“They train in a kind of sterile environment, sometimes, and don’t get to interact a lot with civilians,” says Stainbrook, 34, from Los Angeles.
But what they lack in training, he says, they make up for in other ways.
“They have good hearts, they are smart, and they have common sense,” he says. “They mostly come to the right answers with very little prodding from me.”
Monday’s class was attended by military police, drivers, mechanics and other members of the Combat Services Support Battalion 10, who can expect to have regular dealings with Iraqis as they man checkpoints, collect prisoners and drive supplies to troops in the field.
When confronted with civilian casualties, or aid groups trying to reach hungry villagers, Stainbrook advises them to help to the extent they can — but reminds them they are only obligated to take care of people in their custody.
Many of the Marines’ questions are about differentiating combatants from civilians in a conflict they fear could prompt Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to use his people as human shields.
“As MPs, we’re used to dealing with prisoners of war, so we understand that pretty well,” says Lance Cpl. Orlando Torrez, 24, from Dunkirk, N.Y. “But when civilians are coming at you, that’s a whole different thing.”
Stainbrook advises them to use common sense. Watch out for the person who stands out, he tells them — the man in the bulky jacket on a hot, summer day, or the one dressed like a farmer whose hands are smooth and clean.
“Yes, it will be difficult to do that in a quick-paced environment, but they will have the training to identify what the threats are,” he says of his students.
But at least some aren’t so sure.
“It’s going to be scary out there,” says Lance Cpl. Artie Clinger, 23, from Clarion, Penn. “When things are hectic, you’re just going to be like, ’Whose this? Whose this?’ You aren’t going to know until they shoot you.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2003 The Associated Press.
Sempers,
Roger