Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris

Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro
de la Prensa-Basm Özeti
, COLLABORATORS IRAQ
.'
WITH THE AMERICANS WILL BE KILLED. Not
far down the road, a former lieutenant inthe
Fedayeen who met with a TIME reporter in:
his one-story home reiterates that threat.
''Traitors;' spits the lieutenant at the mention
of those helping the U.S. forces.
''They are not Iraqis, They don't love their
country. They deserve to die:'
The American forces in Tikrit say they
can't guarantee the safety of all who come
to them with information. And while Russell
is concerned about the distribution of
lists of citizens cooperating with American
troops, the U.S. focus on rounding up the
leadership and guarding its own forces
from attack means it can't extend much
protection to the Iraqis, who may be the
key to catching Saddam and ùltimately
subduing the resistance. And so U.S. soldiers
are in a race with the insurgents. "Our
response;' says Russell, "is to finish off our
list before they finish off theirs:'
U.S. commanders say they are winning
the race, but it's a tense fight in which
they have to rely on allies they don't know.
One night last week, Russell was in an office
building in downtown Tikrit, waiting
for a call from a new intelligence source
who said he knew where a prominent
Fedayeen leader was staying for the night.
Four Ml Abrams tanks, six Bradley fighting
vehicles and two infantry platoons
from the 4th Infantry Division stood
poised to capture the man, who was believed
to have been plotting for months to
kill American soldiers in the area. Russell
hadn't used this particular informant
before, but he had a good feeling. "The information
is checking out;' Russell said, a
smile breaking over his wan face. "This
could be a good one:'
Just past 11p.m., Russell's phone rang.
The informant had spotted the target; the
operation was a go. "I wanna get this bastard
who's been attacking my men;' Russell
said as the convoy pulled out and
headed to a flophouse in town where the
Fedayeen commander was lodging. Russell's
Cobra Company stormed the threestory
building, netting 38 workers from
out of town and their man-a provincial
Fedayeen organizer nicknamed Sami "The
Rock:' Task Force 20, operating south of
Tikrit, nabbed two more ''high level" resistance
leaders on the same night. Said
Russell after the raid: ''The source came
through:' And he could come through
again-if his name doesn't end up on the
wrong list.
-WIfh repottlngby
Timothy J. Burger and Massimo Calabresl!
Washington,
Hassan Faftah and Vivienne Waif!
Baghdad and Michael Waremluft
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