Strife moves outside Baghdad

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Ironically, as Iraqis increasingly fight among themselves, many look to the U.S. military to broker their conflicts. For example, Iraqi officials moved the Khan Bani Sad meeting from a mosque to a public hall to ensure that American officers could attend.

But Iraqi army leaders here are working hard to win public trust as mediators. In a blunt exchange at the meeting, Brig. Gen. Saman Talabany, 38, commander of the Iraqi army brigade overseeing the region, told the agitated room of sheiks and imams that despite criticisms, his soldiers offer them their best hope.

"We were traitors because we worked with the coalition. Now we're bastards because we are securing no one, and the Americans are the friends," he said, acknowledging the complaints. But in the end, he said, "no one will help you but the Iraqi army."

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"We aren't wearing hoods. We aren't killing kids," Talabany said. " . . . We are the true mujaheddin."

Talabany, a former fighter for the Kurdish militia known as the pesh merga, was trained at the Australian Defense College and is an aggressive commander, willing to kick down doors in firefights and harass the Defense Ministry in Baghdad for pay for his men.

Many challenges
But Talabany's challenges are many. He is short hundreds of soldiers and critical supplies such as water -- he recently went for days without a shower in 120-degree heat. His soldiers vary in skill from expert scouts to privates who barely know how to hold a weapon, and accidental discharges have caused several fellow soldiers to be wounded, U.S. military advisers say.

Overall, the brigade's confidence and capabilities are growing, aided by platoon-level training by a U.S. Special Forces team. Talabany's soldiers recently captured a top al-Qaeda operative on their own. To operate without U.S. help, however, the brigade will need helicopters, intelligence assets such as unmanned aerial vehicles, and artillery.

All the while, Talabany must strive to appear impartial to feuding Shiite and Sunni leaders. "General Talabany is walking a tightrope of religious, political and military influences," said Lt. Col. Frank Muggeo, head of a U.S. military team that advises Talabany's brigade. But ultimately, Muggeo said, he believes the Iraqi army has "a better chance of taking care of any sectarian violence and defusing it than anyone else."

In a major operation late last month, Talabany's forces, backed by U.S. tanks and attack helicopters, swept through villages involved in the back-and-forth mortar strikes, capturing several suspects and mortar rounds. The show of force, coupled with tighter security at checkpoints and more-frequent Iraqi army and U.S. military patrols in Khan Bani Sad, quieted the bombardments.

Searching a farm, Mohammed ali Ahmed, a 26-year-old Shiite soldier, shook his head. "In this area, all the Sunnis are killing Shiites," he said, dragging a finger across his throat. "The Sunnis are upset and want to destroy the new government. God willing, we will get control and civil war won't happen."

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