The Fadhl neighborhood area in Baghdad is one of the oldest and poorest neighborhoods in Iraq’s capital, with 300-year-old buildings still in use today, and narrow, twisting roads that are ideal lookout points for insurgents to spot approaching vehicles, according to a recent article by Major Sean Ryan, presently serving Iraq with the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
http://www.defendamerica.mil/articles/jul2007/a071007ej1.html
Only a few months ago, according to Ryan, the Fadhl area in Baghdad was a breeding ground for snipers and extremist militia activity.
Just this past spring however, in April, soldiers from the US 1st “Red Devil” Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment out of Fort Bragg, SC, together with combat teams from the Iraqi Security forces, started clearing operations in the area, designed at disrupting insurgent networks and capturing insurgent leaders responsible for attacks on US and Iraqi troops.
According to Major Ryan, the operation turned into a bloody firefight that lasted five hours, and resulted in 14 wounded troops, and dozens of insurgent enemy dead and wounded.
Now, just a few months afterward, the situation has changed remarkably.
After the successful clearing operation in April, officers from the Iraqi Army’s 4th Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army Division, met with Fadhl community leaders, writes Ryan.
Ryan writes that according to Major Mike Pratt, operations officer of the 1st “Red Devil” Battalion, “The [Iraqi Army] asked the residents what they needed and how they can help, instead of constant fighting.”
According to Pratt, their requests were no different than those encountered from residents in most of Iraq, “They wanted their hospital running, electricity, and jobs for the people,” says Pratt.
Since then, writes Ryan, commanders from the 1st Battalion have assisted in organizing and directing a three-week trash-removal project in Fadhl that employed 200 people.
In addition, the Al Tawan Hospital in Fadhl received a 250-kilowatt generator, as well as water storage drums to provide clean water for the hospital’s activities.
According to Ryan, the results in Fadhl have been dramatic.
Attitudes also changed quickly among the poor Fadhl residents after witnessing the changes in the nearby neighborhood of Ahdamiyah.
Ryan writes that the Ahdamiyah area had also been in disarray, but once residents began working with Coalition and Iraqi forces, big changes took place. Violence dropped, electrical power increased, and essential services returned.
A neighborhood leader told Lt Colonel Carl Alex, the 1st Battalion 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment Commander, that Fadhl area residents at first did not trust the soldiers, writes Ryan.
Before the soldiers arrived, the leader continued, residents were neglected by everybody. However, after seeing the improvements and partnership that Ahdamiyah now shares with Iraqi and Coalition forces, the Fadhl residents are eager for the same, writes Ryan.
“This is a great lesson for us, and we are now extending our hand, to shake the hand of the US forces to work together,” Ryan quotes the Fadhl neighborhood leader as saying.
Recently in July, a convoy of trucks from the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, drove unhindered into the heart of Fadhl, delivering much needed food rations, medical supplies, and water to the residents, writes Ryan.
“This is the first tangible aid the residents have ever seen,” Ryan quotes Captain Thomas Delaney, the battalion S-5 officer as saying. “The set of meetings really broke the ice and ever since, violence has decreased significantly.”
The supplies delivered included blankets, food packets for over 1,000 families, medical supplies, and bottled water. Local residents pitched in to help store the supplies inside the local hospital.
According to Ryans report, neighborhood leaders have now also started a plan to distribute electicity to residents, and are organizing individuals to protect the generator and to start a small collection for ongoing fuel purchases.
The neighborhood, continues Ryan, has already re-opened many shops and consumer good stores located around the community’s local mosque, which had been closed for security reasons, due to the previous violence.
Clear and hold. The story of Fadhl is but one of a growing list of similar (and under-reported) success stories coming from all over Baghdad and Iraq.
Even while distant politicians posture and pontificate, local residents are working with Iraqi and US forces to improve security, rebuild neighborhoods, and begin the process of local ronciliation.
Getting better every day – with a little help from our friends.
