By Thom Shanker
The New York Times, 02 May 2006
WASHINGTON, May 1 — American commanders in Iraq are taking steps intended to lessen the chance for violent confrontations between their troops and innocent Iraqis during the daily routines of operating checkpoints and running convoys, senior military officers said.
The changes reflect deep worries that the conduct of American soldiers continues to alienate many Iraqis, despite three years of efforts by the American military to promote greater awareness among the troops of how their actions are perceived.
The changes are meant to avoid confrontations that escalate into the use of force, for example by substituting signs or other gentler warnings for the firing of warning shots, or using strobe lights to make sure civilian drivers approaching checkpoints can see the Americans clearly.
Lt. Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, commander of day-to-day military operations in Iraq, took the unusual step of forwarding to his two-star Army and Marine Corps commanders recent articles in the British press that condemned American forces for what were described as unnecessary levels of rough behavior.
"I don't think it hurts us at all to take a look at it, and ask some tough questions about how we're perceived and how we act as soldiers here in Iraq," General Chiarelli said in a recent telephone interview from his headquarters near Baghdad. "It falls in line with what I'm trying to do in urging a higher level of understanding and cultural sensitivity."
There is no doubt that in the three years since the invasion, American forces have alienated Iraqis in large numbers, ranging from the catastrophic events at Abu Ghraib prison, where Iraqi detainees were abused by their American jailers, to more minor yet daily insults, when some soldiers have used unnecessarily rough techniques at checkpoints, in raids and during searches.
Some unit commanders in the field say the guidelines may make it harder to protect their troops. Some even warn that the emphasis might result in hesitancy among their soldiers when there is a real threat, and hinder their ability to carry the fight to the insurgency.
General Chiarelli said the measures will lower the number of incidents in which American soldiers resort to the use of force, while not increasing the risk to American troops. Working with Iraqi security officials, "We have defined the reaction that soldiers should take, and together we have defined what an escalation-of-force incident is," he said. "These are guidelines to think about in the use of force."
In a significant part of the effort, commanders across Iraq are working with intelligence officers to identify telltale indicators of suicide bombers and other attackers, to give soldiers on patrol a set of guidelines to interpret more effectively the threat presented by an unknown group of Iraqis. For security reasons, officers asked that those identifying signatures not be published.
The techniques also include issuing strobe lights to troops operating checkpoints so they can flash piercing, bright beams at cars that approach too rapidly — rather than firing warning shots. In many cases, Iraqi drivers may not be trying to run through the American checkpoints, but cannot see the soldiers on unlit roads at night, officials said.
The techniques are being used in some of the most violence-plagued parts of the country.
"We do use several different methods to communicate our intentions and to issue instructions to folks as we interact with them on the highways and streets in and around Falluja," said Lt. Nathan J. Braden, a Marine spokesman, in an e-mail message from Iraq.
"Our marines are equipped with a myriad of nonkinetic tools, such as signs in Arabic, flags, spotlights, horns, flares, sirens," Lieutenant Braden wrote.
The Army's Fourth Infantry Division, responsible for a region of cities and rural areas in central Iraq the size of West Virginia, including Baghdad, uses large, hand-held paddles to signal the road movements of its armored vehicles, Humvees and trucks.
American military convoys have been a constant irritant to Iraqi drivers.
"They have 'Stop' and 'Slow' written in Arabic and English, and we hand them up to the gunner in the turret to wave at Iraqi drivers along our route to indicate our movements," said Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Barker, who patrols southern Baghdad.
Lt. Col. Jonathan B. Withington, spokesman for the division, which arrived in Iraq in January, said large convoys also include a translator, loudspeakers and strobe lights. "We go through a deliberate convoy planning process, and speed is always a factor," Colonel Withington said in a telephone interview. "Our leaders drill down on this all the time. We have to be cognizant of how we carry ourselves here."
Some of these techniques were already being used in Iraq, but their use is being refined and accelerated in this sensitive time as Iraq struggles to establish a permanent government.
Commanders in the field, whose units interact directly with Iraqis, acknowledge the need to not offend the local population — but some say the new guidelines make their task far more difficult, especially against an adversary that shows no similar concern about reducing civilian casualties.
"Cultural sensitivity and trying not to alienate the neutral Iraqis is obviously one of the keys to the strategy here," said one field-grade officer in Iraq, who was granted anonymity to discuss the issue more freely. "However, we are fighting a brutal, ruthless gang of terrorists, who exploit any possible advantage beyond all human decency or morals."
The officer cautioned, "The restrained approach, as it is manifesting itself on the ground, is beginning to significantly handcuff our soldiers and leaders." He expressed concerns that "this undoubtedly is producing hesitancy" on the part of some soldiers and some unit leaders.
General Chiarelli said these measures were guidelines and did not replace formal "rules of engagement" that define when soldiers may and may not resort to deadly firepower to protect themselves from danger.
"What we are asking people to do is think through and talk through with soldiers the 'shoot-no shoot' scenarios, and ask, 'When should you apply deadly force?' " said General Chiarelli, who in January took over the Multinational Corps-Iraq and became the second-highest-ranking American combat commander in the country. "We want to give the soldier the opportunity to make the best decision possible."
General Chiarelli is known for his emphasis on missions beyond combat, such as creating jobs and providing city services, in securing and stabilizing the country, a view he developed during a previous tour serving more than a year in Iraq as commander of the First Cavalry Division.
"We risk the chance of creating an insurgent, of creating somebody who gets so disgusted with the quote-unquote 'occupiers' that they get off the fence and go to the wrong side," General Chiarelli said. "That has probably happened in many instances."
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Citation: Thom Shanker. "U.S. Changes Guidelines for Troops to Lessen Everyday Tensions With Iraqi Civilians," The New York Times, 02 May 2006.
Original URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/02/world/02military.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
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