The Quiet Battle to Secure Territory
Marines Try to Win Cooperation of Locals, One Town at a Time

Listen to Steve Inskeep's April 7 report

U.S. Marines prepare to ignite strips of explosives taped to a portrait of Saddam Hussein drinking tea in the central Iraq village of Qalat Sukar. Photo: Steve Inskeep, NPR News

"The Marines plan to provide for the most urgent humanitarian needs -- but hope to avoid becoming policemen, or getting tangled in local affairs. They say they're not trained for that." NPR's Steve Inskeep

The end result: The portrait of Saddam outside the secret police headquarters is defaced -- but the cup of tea is still intact. Photo: Steve Inskeep, NPR News

April 7, 2003 -- Even as U.S. forces fight for control of Baghdad, a quieter battle is underway in the south. American troops are trying to consolidate their control over territory that they raced through on their way north to the capital. They're also trying to win the cooperation of local residents -- an effort that may determine the long-term success of the campaign.

NPR's Steve Inskeep followed U.S. Marines as they made an armed excursion into the central Iraq market town of Qalat Sukar. The town lies near U.S. military supply routes, and Marines have suffered a number of ambushes along the roads north.

One of the first things the Marines did was seize the headquarters of the local secret police. "You could tell the building by the concrete slab in front, bearing a painting of Saddam Hussein sipping a cup of tea," says Inskeep.

The Marines taped explosives to the portrait and lit the fuse. "The shaped explosion ripped up Saddam's face, but left that cup of tea intact," Inskeep says.

Many town residents welcomed the Marines with cheers and smiles -- but also said they are short of food, water and medical care. The villagers -- some of them Shiite Muslims, a group long repressed by the regime in Baghdad -- say they are also in need of security. Every government building in the region, Inskeep says, appears to be vacant.

"There's no authority here at all, except the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit," Inskeep says. "The Marines plan to provide for the most urgent humanitarian needs -- but hope to avoid becoming policemen, or getting tangled in local affairs. They say they're not trained for that."

Within a few hours, the Marines withdrew from Qalat Sukar -- "leaving a vacuum that may not be filled until the United States tries to rebuild an Iraqi government," Inskeep says.


In Depth

 April 6, 2003: Inskeep hitches a ride on a Marine Corps helicopter to central Iraq.

 Hear NPR reports by Steve Inskeep.

 NPR News Coverage of the War in Iraq

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