IRAQ - Operation Steel Curtain.

US forces now hold on to any city or village they recapture from the Neo-Salafi insurgents in Iraq's vast western province of Anbar. The Christian Science Monitor on Nov. 21 focused on New Obeidi, one of a string of towns along the Euphrates River near the Syrian border. It quoted Marine Cpl. Sean Thompson as shouting: "Get back, get back!", after poking at a suspicious mound of rocks during a Marine patrol to look for insurgents' improvised explosive devices (IEDs). "Daisy chain, daisy chain here, don't nobody go off the road!" Thanks to the corporal from Seminole, Fla., the Monitor said, the "daisy chain" explosives linked together never went off. But they illustrated the difficulty of keeping Neo-Salafi insurgents permanently out of New Obeidi and the other towns in Anbar recaptured during the US-led Operation Steel Curtain (OSC) in recent weeks.

Marines of the 3rd Battalion of the 6th Regiment have fought to wrest control of these towns from the insurgents over the past weeks in OSC. This region of Iraq is home to supply lines, incoming foreign fighters, and insurgent bases. Throughout OSC, Neo-Salafi insurgents have typically resisted then melted away rather than confront the Marines' fire power. By Nov. 20, at least 11 Marines had been killed since the operation began. More than 100 insurgents had been killed and several hundred had been arrested.

Resting in the bend of the Euphrates River, New Obeidi, located next to Obeidi, is a microcosm of the challenges and pitfalls of the broader fight against insurgents. It was the last city taken by the Marines in OSC. Fighting ended on Nov. 18, and the battle has turned to ensuring that insurgents do not return. A day after the bullets stopped flying in New Obeidi, Marines began 24-hour foot patrols through the streets. Residents come forward to point out weapon stockpiles by day while insurgents plant IEDs by night. Children wave and some men shake hands with the Marines. Others hang back offering only hard stares.

The Monitor on Nov. 21 quoted Sgt. Antonio Farmer, of Wilson, N.C., as he walked through a dusty field, saying: "These guys smile and shake your hand today, but you kill one of their brethren...you make your own enemies if you're not careful. It's hard to know when to turn it on and to turn it off, the aggression". The Monitor described the situation in New Obeidi after its fall to the US Marines as follows: "The scars of the battle are all around him and makeshift white flags fly from rooftops, car windows, and residents' hands as they walk the streets. As the patrol makes its way through the grid of streets in this community...planned around a fertilizer factory, residents emerge to watch, and children cautiously test the playfulness of the Marines. The Marines have been told by their commanders that a positive climate here is essential to keep insurgents away. One Marine approaches a man standing alone and offers a handshake, but the man pulls his hand away, offering instead a stern nod of acknowledgement. At the next house a group of men and boys wave. 'Good, good!' they shout".

The Monitor then quoted local resident "Abu Abdullah, a political science professor", as saying: "The situation is very miserable. All the people in this city spent [three or four nights] outside the city. All this destruction and death came under the slogan of democracy. Is this democracy? Is this a civilization? Is this freedom?" But, the Monitor added, "on the same street where Abdullah stands, three men are trying to get the Marines' attention to show them where two IEDs were hidden in the garden of a home. The Monitor quoted Sgt Farmer as saying: "I'd hate to shoot one of these kids in the head... You do what you can because the enemy blends in. [It's a case of] 'no better friend and no better enemy', because you never really know who [you are dealing with]". The Monitor said the majority of the people on the street just wanted to know if the Marines will compensate them for their damaged homes and cars. "So many have questions that it takes two hours for the Marines to walk just a few blocks". The Monitor quoted Sgt. Ryan Ashabranner, of Cypress, Texas, on a different patrol, as saying: "We want to have a good relationship with them [so] that if we see anything they will tell us. The only way to have that is to get their trust, and the only way to do that is [reconstruction]". During these first patrols around the city after the fighting, the Monitor said, the Marines were charged with the painstaking work of sweeping each street for IEDs in the road and weapons left behind by insurgents. The rebuilding and humanitarian work will be done by other Marines who are just setting up such programmes. But "without an interpreter and few answers to questions, Marines like Farmer and Ashabranner are left to hand gestures and whatever English the residents may know to communicate".

The Monitor said of the Marines patrolling the streets: "Where's the 'boom boom'? 'Boom? Boom?' they often ask while making an explosion gesture with their hands to ask residents if they know where any weapons or IEDs are. Many of the Marines...are familiar with this side of fighting the insurgency. Roughly half of them served in Afghanistan".

The Monitor quoted Capt. Clinton Culp of Amarillo, Texas, the commander of the weapons company overseeing the New Obeidi area, as saying: "We know you have to get out and in touch with the people. Just driving by, everyone waves, but that doesn't do anything. Being in Afghanistan they learned they had to get out and interact with the people. It's the only way this thing is going to get won". That presence pays dividends. After walking the street for a few days, Farmer judged the remaining insurgent influence by the way the children reacted to them on a given street. Farmer said: "Some places the kids will play with you, make fun of you 'big bad American soldiers'. But go to other places and it's different. They shy away from you. Atmospherics are going to be a big part of success in this town".