DAY THREE: 4th Infantry Division
Posted by
Michelle Stein
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February 18, 2004
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Codel Davis 18 Feb 2004
4th Infantry Division
The second day in Iraq began with the trip from the Kuwait Airport in the ubiquitous C-130 aircraft to the town of Kirkuk. This is the site for major Iraqi oil production in the north. We left the airfield via Blackhawks helicopter to the town of Tikrit. One difference in the helicopter ride from the August trip was that the aircraft flew much lower, much faster than on our previous trip. I assume this was because of the problems encountered during the month of November when helicopter flights were the subject of attacks by insurgents.
Flying over the oilfield was extremely instructive. There has been significant degradation of infrastructure as there have been in other locations in Iraq, but in the oilfields this has resulted in some significant ecological impact as well. We saw areas where the ground was simply covered with a black, tarry substance. There was an extremely large mound of yellow sulfur that had been recovered during the refining process and simply dumped on the countryside. Because of the high amount of sulfur in the crude petroleum product in Iraq, there is a significant problem with corrosion in the pipelines. This has resulted in some significant problems with breaks in the delivery system which further complicates the return to economic viability of this country.
The oil refining capability in Iraq is such that only 26 gallons out of every 48 gallons contained in a barrel of oil are recovered as a refined product. This compares with 47 gallons collected from a barrel of oil in more modern plants elsewhere in the Middle East and in the United States. Clearly this is an enormous barrier to competitiveness on the world market. The economic consequences of merely selling the oil on the open market as the crude product versus the refined product are immense.
We flew past another powerplant which had 3 of 6 smokestacks working indicating a probable 50% capacity or less.
The fields beneath the flight path were green with recently planted wheat crops which was only brown stubble when I flew over this same region last August. Apparently, because of some significant rains during the past year, it was anticipated that the wheat harvest would be larger this year. There is genuine concern if there will be adequate diesel fuel available to run the farm machinery necessary to capture the harvest.
The helicopter trip was accomplished without incident in spite of the low altitude approach. We had an uncomplicated landing at the palace compounds in the town of Tikrit on the Tigris River.
General Raymond Odierno
We then had a briefing with General Raymond Odierno of the fourth infantry division. This is the Army division of Fort Hood, Texas which is due to return in one month's time having been here almost a year.
General Odierno stated that the capture of Saddam Hussein had had a significant positive effect upon the soldiers in his command, but he felt there was a greater effect upon the families of the soldiers at home. He said that this was a true validation of the soldiers mission, and gave the families tangible evidence that their loved ones absence was indeed for a worthwhile purpose.
Again while Saddam Hussein himself has not provided much information, the documents captured, at the time of his arrest, has proven to be invaluable. Additionally, this has provided a source for re-interrogation of previously questioned individuals who are now providing additional information.
The General stated that there has been significant improvement in Iraq over the past six month’s time. He pointed to the fact that the next Iraqi senior officers were now acting as advisers in the new Iraqi army.
More shops are open and more construction occurring than at any time in the recent past. On a less than positive note, the establishment of the Iraqi police force has been too slow, but the additional money provided in the supplement recently passed by Congress will greatly help this process. Additionally, there is a reported 40% unemployment rate in Iraq. This is a number that is hard to ascertain for certain, but currently, that General said Iraq was not a job-based economy. He again felt that the funds available from the supplemental will drive long-term employment.
The General stated that automated banks are now a feature of life in the town of Tikrit. He stated that agriculture increased over three times in past six months. This amazing turnaround is a result of the availability of electricity to run pumps to deliver water to irrigate crops. He reiterated that the oil infrastructure was more of a patchwork. Not much work has been done on reestablishing rail lines as of yet, but they believe this needs to happen.
General Odierno said the border police now number over 2,000. He stated that their intelligence in town has seen consistently increased. Subsequently, the raids on the members of the insurgency have become much more successful than before, nearing a 90% success rate compared with 50% or less last August. An additional benefit is that this success rate is occurring as a joint process between the United States and members of the Iraqi police or Civil Defense Corps.
The focused raids deal with individuals to manufacture or sell improvised explosive devices, mortars or general arms merchants. There is a general feeling that the Iraqis really do not like foreigners and this applies to insurgents as well as liberators. This places groups like Al Qaeda at a distinct disadvantage in that they are constantly playing an “away” game.
Attacks by the former regime elements are no longer relevant. Money for their activities has become scarce, so they are now relying on foreign fighters. Currently, the vehicle-born improvised explosive device has become a much greater concern. However, over the past 30 days, there has been an increased tendency for leaders in the community to come forward to identify these individuals to the community at-large as people have had enough of fighting and insurgency.
The General reported significant clearance of the munitions by both collection and construction. Some 3,500 sites have been identified in his area alone. The weapons collected have ranged from US made munitions from the 1950s and 1960s to French, Russian, Chinese and Syrian weapons.
The Iraqi Civil Defense Corps has been one of the true success stories with thousands of trained with military training. In some ways, the General said it was more difficult to train policeman man the Civil Defense Corps. Police training requires much more attention to crime scene preservation and evidence development than does the type of activities taken on by the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps. There is a significant improvement in communications and getting our message out to regular Iraqi citizens.
The General concluded by pointing out how this summer, Iraqi citizens will have their own sovereign national government and will control their own destiny for the first time since 1967.
Following the briefing by the General there was a plan to go to the town of Tikrit to visit with local leaders. Because of some security concerns that had occurred just outside of the fourth infantry division compound, the local leaders were brought to the military base for a meeting with the congressional delegation.
This was a rather wide ranging and unstructured discussion. Various religious leaders, governors and lieutenant governor's, as well as religious leaders, were in attendance. It very much resembled a town hall meeting back home mediated by translators. There didn't seem to the any harsh rifts that would be difficult to overcome. There did seem to be a broad consensus that the return to local governance next summer was an event that all anticipated eagerly.
We again had a chance to visit with the soldiers of the fourth infantry division at the time of their evening meal. This revealed that our soldiers’ morales were high, and they were eagerly anticipating their return next month.
Of particular interest to me was the fact that a banner I left with the troops last summer was prominently displayed on their wall in the mess tent.
We left the base and Tikrit via helicopter and again flew low and fast back to the air base. Only this time it was night, and we flew without lights. This added another dimension of drama to our departure.
Likewise the C-130's flew back to Kuwait City completely darkened to avoid becoming a target for any insurgents on the ground.
Contrasting the day with a similar trip last August, I felt that there was huge progress taking place in this area of Iraq. The General and his troops have done a masterful job with a dramatic capture of Saddam Hussein in December. While our trip into Tikrit was canceled, the mere fact that a trip into town was planned was a significant improvement over the past six months. In August process trip would have even been contemplated.
