U.S. soldiers hold out longer than power does

BAGHDAD — When the electricity came on in the ramshackle district of Sadr City, the soldiers from the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment flicked on the television to watch Tuesday's congressional hearings with Gen. David Petraeus.

For a brief moment, Washington politics intruded into a world in which automatic-weapons fire, tank fire and explosives rock the streets. But before Petraeus could complete his prepared statement, the power shut down again.

The fleeting reminder of the debate at home was followed by a blunt discussion of the larger aims of the American involvement here.

None of the soldiers clustered around the television favored a speedy reduction in U.S. troops. For soldiers defending a toehold in the most violent area of Baghdad with often unsteady Iraqi troops, the idea of confronting well-armed militias with fewer forces seemed almost unfathomable.

"If we did start downgrading forces, it would hurt us more," said Staff Sgt. William Edwards, who was among the half-dozen troops watching the start of the proceedings. "We would have a lot less to fight all the militias."

But some from the unit — 1st Squadron, 2nd Platoon, Bull Company — harbored doubts about the Iraqi government's determination to take on the militias.

"It has got to be done," said Spc. Nicholas Dutkiewicz, 23, from Bristol, Conn. "I don't know if they are willing to carry it all the way through."

Sgt. Derek Arnold, 23, from Springfield, Ore., said he was annoyed to learn in the opening statement of the senior Democrat, Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, that the Iraqi government was not spending all of its oil proceeds. "It ticked me off to hear how our tax money is going into this when they are just stockpiling the money," he said.

Existence for the U.S. soldiers in Sadr City is spartan, at best. The three-story apartment building that serves as their base has no working shower and only one functional, but primitive, toilet. The soldiers live on field rations and sleep on lumpy mats in crowded, dusty rooms.

"We all smell the same, so you can't really tell," said Staff Sgt. Mark Brasel, 26, from Tacoma.

Blankets are strung over the windows to try to foil enemy snipers, while the platoon's own snipers and Stryker vehicles try to monitor Iraqis who live nearby. There is intermittent and often heavy gunfire outside.

For now, the main fighting is being done by soldiers from the 11th Iraqi Army Division. It has been thrust into the lead as part of an effort to build up the Iraqi army's capabilities and to avoid inflaming the population in an area that has long been a bastion of support for Muqtada al-Sadr, the anti-American cleric who controls the Mahdi Army.

The Iraqi soldiers have been struggling to advance to a main thoroughfare about half a mile to the north to solidify control over the area. Judging from the nearby gunfire, the Iraqi effort seems to be having mixed results.

For the Americans, holding the line has had its costs. On Tuesday morning, word reached the platoon over the tactical radio that two soldiers from a nearby unit were killed when an explosion rocked their position.

One Sadr City resident, who spoke only after being assured that he would not be identified, said he hoped the U.S. soldiers would stay for a while. Before the U.S. troops arrived, he said, militias had prowled the streets with impunity.

The troops generally agreed with Staff Sgt. Edwards, who said it would be foolish to withdraw U.S. troops at this time. But some also bemoaned the lack of progress on the Iraqi side.

Lt. Matthew Apostol, 25, from Mililani, Hawaii, and the platoon leader, summed up both concerns.

"There should not be a quick timeline for reducing troops," he said. "That would not be a good thing for Iraq right now. But the Iraqi government is pretty inept. They are not meeting their end of the bargain. The Iraqi army is not getting the support it needs from its government. They come and ask us for food, water and ammunition, basic things that soldiers need."