Story filed 4-09-05

By Edward Lee Pitts
Military Affairs

BALAD RUZ, Iraq -- During a recent gathering here, Influential village chiefs expressed frustrations about basic needs while 278th Regimental Combat Team soldiers and Iraqi government officials trumpeted recent successes and expressed hope for the future.

The sheiks came from all over the Eastern Diyala province near the Iranian border for a discussion with soldiers of the Tennessee-based unit on issues ranging from security to infrastructure to shady contractors.

U.S. soldiers informally dubbed Tuesday's two-hour chat with more than 150 village chiefs a "sheik fest" or a "sheik a palooza." Its official title was unity conference.

"It is good to have everybody talk here instead of talking with themselves in other places," said Capt. Chris Chang of the 426th Civil Affairs battalion based out of California. "We know what they need, but it is important for them to express it."

CHANGING RULES

These village chiefs, who are used to making local rules, may have to succumb to the laws of a higher authority in the developing democratic government, officials said. But with villages of all shapes and sizes throughout the province, the emerging city councils in the major cities still are not representative of the entire population, and U.S. soldiers cannot afford to ignore the sheiks, officials said.

The meeting occurred the morning after a fierce firefight involving the regiment south of Balad Ruz. Regimental commander Col. Dennis Adams and 1st Squadron commander Lt. Col. Mark Hart missed the meeting because both were canvassing the combat zone where two U.S. soldiers, two Iraqi soldiers and 17 insurgents died.

Despite the absences, the meeting at the Balad Ruz youth center gave 278th members and local Iraqi government officials a chance to tout their agenda in front of an audience of leaders with sway over several thousand citizens in the province. Using a PowerPoint presentation in Arabic, 278th officers focused on security.

Projected slides boasted about the amount of artillery and mortar rounds, mines, rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons U.S. and Iraqi forces had taken off the desert roadways. The presenters also told the sheiks that security forces have detained 30 individuals who will be tried allegedly for taking part in attacks against U.S. troops or Iraqis.

With a slide showing two arrows pointed in opposite directions, the U.S. soldiers narrating on stage illustrated how the role of U.S. forces here is dwindling while the Iraqi army and police are taking greater responsibility for security.

Mohamed Maroof Hussein, the mayor of Balad Ruz, then asked the sheiks to recruit more males in their villages for the army or police force.

But when it came time for the sheiks to speak, the village chiefs aimed their complaints at the driving habits of U.S. convoys -- not the threat of insurgent activity.

ROAD RAGE

Annoyed at the road rules imposed in the last two years by those in power, several sheiks spoke passionately against the high speed of U.S. convoys. Numerous crashes have occurred when panicked Iraqi drivers swerve to avoid a military convoy of bigger armored vehicles barreling down the road, the sheiks said. The convoys are destroying roads, the sheiks said, and animals are having miscarriages because they are afraid of the noisy helicopters, tanks and Humvees that rumble by.

Capt. James Hite of Hermitage, Tenn., said much of the traffic comes from military units passing through that are not part of the 278th. He said convoys of both armies would continue to drive in a way to protect themselves from the threat of roadside explosives and car bombs.

Several Iraqis sharing the stage with the Americans defended the military tactics.

"Coalition forces have a hard job so they must drive fast," said Hussein al Dalagi, the top sheik of the province, whose words were translated for the benefit of the U.S. soldiers. "We hope it gets better."

The mayor of Balad Ruz said coalition forces are rebuilding the streets more than damaging them.

As the meeting progressed, the sheiks never mentioned concerns about area insurgent activity, which pleased Capt. John King, 1st Squadron's Civil Affairs officer.

"What surprised me is that so little was said about security, which is good," Capt. King said. "When they shift from security to complain about something else, it means we must be doing something right."

Instead of safety fears, the sheiks, each wearing head scarves and traditional robes, pleaded for the basic needs of their villages, such as clean water for drinking and irrigation. Fuel continues to be scarce and expensive on the black market, and towns still go without electricity for weeks at a time, they said.

ELECTRICITY OUTAGES

One sheik said his village did not have such electricity problems under the previous government. Another said people are forced to rely on gas generators many cannot afford.

Talk of electricity stirred animated discussions among the sheiks, forcing the Balad Ruz mayor to quiet down the crowd before proclaiming more power lines are being restored or built. Hopefully, he said, distribution of power from larger cities into the surrounding sheik-run villages will improve.

Slides in the U.S. presentation had listed, by categories such as schools, roads, electricity and water, the more than 136 projects U.S.-led coalition forces have spent more than $2.8 million on in the last year in the province. While explaining that security, infrastructure and medical improvements will continue to be a priority, the last slides in the presentation warned coalition-sponsored projects will decrease, allowing the Iraqi government to finance future developments.

"Remember, this is a limited resource," the next to last slide reminded the sheiks in Arabic.

Sheiks responded by unleashing a barrage of complaints against the local contractors hired to complete these projects. Accusing many of taking the money and doing incomplete or sloppy work, the sheiks said the corrupt contractors deserve a jail cell instead of money. U.S and Iraqi officials said contractors are being held accountable.

"Those accusations should have insulted everyone in the room, because most of the contractors we get are from the sheiks," Capt. Hite said after the meeting. "Everybody who doesn't get a contract will complain about it, saying the work is no good and they could do a better job."

But Capt. Hite said the long day's debating gave him hope the province's leaders are ready and willing to take back the reins of their country.

To keep the sheiks in the loop as the change occurs, similar unity conferences will be held each month, officials said.

E-mail Lee Pitts at lpitts@timesfreepress.com

On the Web: Photos by U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika of the 278th Regimental Combat Team are available on the Times Free Press Web site. Visit http://www.timesfreepress.com/kp.

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