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wrbones
04-07-03, 05:54 AM
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/5573706.htm












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Posted on Sun, Apr. 06, 2003

Marines find weapons caches but little resistance
By ANDREA GERLIN, PATRICK PETERSON and MATT SCHOFIELD
Knight Ridder Newspapers

NEAR BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. Marines rolling into the eastern outskirts of Baghdad encountered pockets of resistance Sunday and found stashes of Iraqi weapons, including surface-to-air missiles and military vehicles.

One Marine platoon exchanged small arms fire with Iraqi fighters about 10 miles east of the Iraqi capital, a day after fierce fighting southeast of Baghdad in which Marines claimed they destroyed 70 percent of the Iraqi Republican Guard al Nida division.

The fighting comes during a massive buildup of U.S. Marines along Baghdad's eastern edge. The Marines, extremely wary of suicide bombers, have been conducting raids on suspected weapons caches as they move, and some paid off over the weekend.

On Sunday, Marines from the 3rd Battalion, 1st Division found three surface-to-air missiles about six miles east of Baghdad, according to Capt. Dan Rose, of Dallas, Texas. Also found were eight mobile missile launchers. Rose said the missiles were loaded and ready to deploy, indicating the Iraqis had run quickly.

A day earlier, missiles and other weapons were found when a group of Republican Guards in Chimney, a small village about 10 miles southeast of Baghdad, had some unexpected dinner guests: U.S. Marines. The soldiers ran as the Marines approached.

The troops from the 4th Protection Squad, 1st Marines, pulled into the village as civilians began raiding a nearby military warehouse for AK-47s; inside was a giant weapons cache and enough food to feed a small army.

Outside was a truckload of surface-to-air missiles in their cases and 12 military vehicles.

"Not a bad little find for just keeping my eyes open," said the Marine who discovered the warehouse. He declined to be identified.

The haul at the warehouse included the AK-47s, rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and even gas masks. In another room of the warehouse were large sacks of rice, cooking oil, potatoes, crackers and dates. Two large servings of rice had been left cooking.

The unused food was to be redistributed to local residents by the Marines. A Marine from the explosive ordnance disposal unit, who would identify himself only as Tony, said the weapons were to be consolidated and destroyed in a controlled explosion.

"This building is going to be going away," he said.

The ammunition depot was the latest and so far one of the largest sites Marines have found and destroyed. Whether Saddam Hussein's regime possesses weapons of mass destruction remains to be determined, but that it has a prolific supply of conventional arms is now well established.

Up and down the countryside, Saddam's Iraq appears at times to be one giant military installation. Long, tall berms line the sides of most major roads and grim looking institutional buildings are hidden behind tall fences and walls. The roads to Baghdad are littered with destroyed Iraqi military vehicles.

For some Marines headed to Baghdad, the twisted metal was as close as they would come to encountering the enemy.

On Sunday, as a 50-vehicle convoy prepared to move northwest toward the Iraqi capital, a lieutenant told drivers:

"It's not a safe route completely, but it's not a dangerous one. I'm most worried about people rear-ending each other, so let's keep our spacing."

From the moment the convoy, including engineers and earth-moving equipment, pulled out of Camp AA Anderson just after 8 a.m., it was clear to all the U.S. was largely in control of the region.

"Amazing isn't it?" said Master Sgt. Rick Skinner of Longview, Wash. "It's still dangerous in Baghdad but we control the south of Iraq and we're only three weeks in."

Elementary school age children stopped to check out the U.S. military equipment as the convoy rolled along, exchanging "Did you see that?" expressions. The Marines have been told not to give out anything to locals, to discourage them from approaching convoys, but the youngsters often found themselves under a rain of chocolate and other desserts.

"I'm sure there were pockets of resistance out there, we just didn't see them," said 1st Lt. Faye Hutchison of Seattle, Wash. "Maybe we were lucky, but it sure didn't seem like a dangerous ride."

Marines from the 3rd Battalion of the 1st Division also encountered little resistance, but they found citizens to be increasingly sullen and suspicious the closer they were to the capital.

For some Marines, the march to Baghdad has changed their perspective on the world.

Lance Cpl. Bobby Davis, 21, Mobile, Ala., said he was stunned by the crushing poverty of Iraqi farmers.

"It's pretty much a life-changing thing," he said. "You're used to what you have in America, and around the world it's different. I'll respect what I have a lot more now."

Lance Jeremy Blount, 22, also of Mobile, Ala., said initially he was against the war.

"At first I was bitter, thinking we didn't have a place over here. But (the Iraqis) are thankful for the job we're doing," he said. "We went too long letting Saddam get away with what he was doing, I think, after seeing how these people live."