Watch
Martin Fletcher's report from Ramadi
The police station in Tameen, a district of Ramadi, occupies a wreck of a
building – its roof shattered by shells, its windows blown out, its walls
pockmarked by shrapnel. That is not unusual in Iraq. What makes this station
extraordinary is that a city in the heart of the infamous Sunni Triangle, a
city that once led the antiAmerican insurgency, has named it after a US
soldier – Captain Travis Patriquin.
The honour is well-deserved. Captain Patriquin played a little-known but
crucial role in one of the few American success stories of the Iraq war.
He helped to convert Ramadi from one of Iraq’s deadliest cities into arguably
the safest outside the semi-autonomous Kurdish north. This graveyard for
hundreds of American soldiers, which a Marine Corps intelligence report
wrote off as a lost cause just a year ago, is where the US military now
takes visiting senators, and journalists such as myself, to show the
progress it is making. Ramadi will be Exhibit A when General David Petraeus,
the US commander in Iraq, appears before Congress in two weeks’ time to
argue that the country as a whole should not be written off.
In Ramadi last weekend I did things unthinkable almost anywhere else in this
violent country. I walked through the main souk without body armour, talking
to ordinary Iraqis. Late one evening I strolled into the brightly lit Jamiah
district of the city with Lieutenant-Colonel Roger Turner, the
tobacco-chewing US marine in charge of central Ramadi, to buy kebabs from an
outdoor restaurant – “It’s safer than London or New York,” Colonel Turner
assured me.
I listened incredulously as Latif Obaid Ayadah, Ramadi’s Mayor, told me of his
desire to build an airport and tourist resort in Ramadi and talked – only
half in jest – of twinning his city with Belfast and Oklahoma City. “I want
it to be a small slice of heaven,” he declared.
I had met Captain Patriquin while embedded with US troops in Ramadi last
November. He was a big man, moustachioed, ex-Special Forces, fluent in
Arabic and engaged in what was then a revolutionary experiment for a US
military renowned for busting doors down. He and a small group from the
First Brigade Combat Team, part of the 1st Armoured Division, were
assiduously courting the local sheikhs – tribal leaders – over endless cups
of tea and cigarettes.
They were encouraging them to rise up against the hundreds of al-Qaeda
fighters – Saudi, Jordanian, Syrian, Sudanese, Yemeni – who had arrived in
Ramadi two years earlier, promising to lead the battle against the infidel
Americans. What al-Qaeda actually did was recruit local thugs, seize control
of the city, and impose a Taleban-style rule of terror. Mayor Latif said
that they regularly beheaded “collaborators” in public and left the heads
beside the corpses. Mischievous children would then put cigarettes in the
mouths of the disembodied heads.
Captain Patriquin may have offered more than mere words. His main
interlocutor, Sheikh Abdul Sittar Bezea al-Rishawi, told The Times that
he gave them guns and ammunition too. The sheikhs did rise up. They formed a
movement called the Anbar Awakening, led by Sheikh Sittar. They persuaded
thousands of their tribesmen to join the Iraqi police, which was practically
defunct thanks to al-Qaeda death threats, and to work with the reviled US
troops. The US military built a string of combat outposts (COPs) throughout
a city that had previously been a no-go area, and through a combination of
Iraqi local knowledge and American firepower they gradually regained control
of Ramadi, district by district, until the last al-Qaeda fighters were
expelled in three pitched battles in March. What happened in Ramadi was
later replicated throughout much of Anbar province.
Ramadi’s transformation is breathtaking. Shortly before I arrived last
November masked al-Qaeda fighters had brazenly marched through the city
centre, pronouncing it the capital of a new Islamic caliphate. The US
military was still having to fight its way into the city through a gauntlet
of snipers, rocket-propelled grenades, suicide car bombs and improvised
explosive devices (IEDs). Fifty US soldiers had been killed in the previous
five months alone. I spent 24 hours huddled inside Eagles Nest, a tiny COP
overlooking the derelict football stadium, listening to gunfire, explosions
and the thump of mortars. The city was a ruin, with no water, electricity or
functioning government. Those of its 400,000 terrified inhabitants who had
not fled cowered indoors as fighting raged around them.
Today Ramadi is scarcely recognisable. Scores of shattered buildings testify
to the fury of past battles, but those who fled the violence are now
returning. Pedestrians, cars and motorbike rickshaws throng the streets.
More than 700 shops and businesses have reopened. Restaurants stay open late
into the evening. People sit outside smoking hookahs, listening to music,
wearing shorts – practices that al-Qaeda banned. Women walk around with
uncovered faces. Children wave at US Humvees. Eagles’ Nest, a heavily
fortified warren of commandeered houses, is abandoned and the stadium hosts
football matches.
“Al-Qaeda is gone. Everybody is happy,” said Mohammed Ramadan, 38, a
stallholder in the souk who witnessed four executions. “It was fear, pure
fear. Nobody wanted to help them but you had to do what they told you.”
On the night of June 30 a US patrol chanced upon two trucks laden with
al-Qaeda fighters, weapons and explosives approaching Ramadi across the
desert from the south, and two US soldiers were killed in what became known
as the “Battle of Donkey Island”. But there has not been a US casualty, or
major attack, since. No vehicles can enter the city without being checked
for explosives, and any al-Qaeda fighter who returned would be swiftly
handed over.
“We have an Iraqi saying: ‘If you’re bitten by a snake you’re scared of the
smallest insect’. We’re not going to let that snake back any more,” said Ali
Sami, 39, another stallholder who recently returned home after fleeing to
Baghdad. Ramadi has gone from war zone to building site. US soldiers have
become the nation-builders so derided by Donald Rumsfeld, the former US
Defence Secretary. They are training Ramadi’s 7,000 new policemen (a year
ago it had 200) and helping the Iraqis to rebuild their broken city.
They have set up 12 district councils and a city council. They have created
19,000 day labour jobs, paying locals $7 (£3.47) an hour to clear rubble,
remove acres of garbage, repair cratered roads, paint shop fronts and
replace underground pipes destroyed by IEDs. They have restored electricity,
water, rubbish collections and a rudimentary bus service. They are erecting
1,000 solar-powered street lamps. The hospital – commandeered by al-Qaeda –
and the fire station are back up and running. Criminal courts will reopen
next month. So will Ramadi’s ceramics factory, one of its few real
employers. Gunfire has become a sound of celebration.
The city council and US military broadcast daily progress reports, introduced
by the national anthem and English football results, from giant loudspeakers
above 19 police stations.
The 6,000 US soldiers are now dubbed “friendly forces”, and most are bemused
by their new civil role. “I want to fight al-Qaeda, but f*** it – this is
victory,” said Corporal Patrick Marzillo from Chicago.
“Instead of using my radio to summon support fire I’m calling to get a water
leak mended,” said Colonel Turner. The soldiers’ biggest enemy now is the
scorching heat – well over 110 degrees most days, which is no joke in body
armour.
The al-Qaeda fighters driven from Ramadi have not left Iraq, of course.
Indeed, they appear to be stepping up suicide bomb attacks elsewhere. But
Colonel John Charlton, the US officer in overall charge of Ramadi, insists
that al-Qaeda has suffered a major setback. “We’ve denied them a base of
operations. I think it was a severe strategic blow to lose not only Ramadi,
but all of Anbar province,” he said.
Iraqi Shias are also worried that the new US-trained police forces of Ramadi
and Anbar province could eventually metamorphose into well-trained Sunni
militias; the Sunni insurgency may be fading, but the Shia-Sunni civil war
rages on.
But for now Ramadi’s citizens are enjoying their improbable peace, and
remembering the American they call “Martyr Husham” – the brave and generous
martyr.
Captain Patriquin, 32, a father of three young children, was killed by a
roadside bomb days after I left Ramadi last winter. Sheikh Sittar wept when
told the news. He and several tribal leaders attended his memorial service.
Captain Patriquin “was an extraordinary man who played a very, very
important role,” he told The Times.
He “showed Iraqis that Americans are real people and not an evil occupying
force bent on destroying their land...He was a true hero who paid the
ultimate sacrifice,” said Colonel Charlton.
As one opposed to the US invasion since before we started as the wrong response to the terrorist threat and merely another Cheney/Rove PR red herring that got out of hand, I'm gratified to see that the troops on the ground understnad more fully then the politicos their role in making peace not war. I suspect that, if Bush sees this, he'll try to take credit for this too. Please let's get out of Iraq and focus on the the terrorists.
Don Murphy, Seattle, Washington
This folks is what we invaded 'em for. The holy grail since WMD excuse went down the toilet.
Makes all those billions down the potty worth it.
I guess many felt warm knowing all them US kids blown up and 600 000+ Iraquis dead not counting how many maimed widowed and orphaned was worth it after all.
R. John, Calcutta, India
A lot of the cheerleaders posting here are sort of missing the point . Captain Patriquin's plan was rejected by the majority of the military leaders in the US. He was the intelligent exception, not the rule. He had a clearly viable plan for winning the people over. It has, for the most part, been ignored.
Instead, we have the "surge."
Anyone with any intelligence wants us to win in Iraq. The problem has been that the leadership has been committed to beating the Iraqis into submission, whereas Patriquin's plan involved working with the local Iraqi leader's, enlisting their aid, speaking their language and understanding their values.
If there was more of that from the beginning, we would not be in the mess we're in now.
Mark, Los Angeles, CA
Thank you for telling this story. I worked with Travis on this project in Ramadi, and he was truly one of a kind. Without his hard work, this whole opportunity would have been missed. People keep talking about "The Surge" and the "Marine Model" when talking about the turnaround in Al Anbar, it is a lie. The Tribal Sheiks, with the support of a few ingenious battalion and brigade level leaders, chiefly Trav Patriquin and Col. Sean MacFarland (the Army Brigade Commander responsible for Ramadi at the time), made this happen despite the best efforts of the Marine Division Headquarters to stop it in its infancy. It has since blossomed into a tremendous success. Travis Patriquin's efforts and vision should be mandatory study for all ground combat and civil affairs officers. I can think of no better legacy for Trav.
Pat Fagan, Charlottesville, VA
There are so many more success stories from Iraq that we will only hear about on the internet or by word of mouth, because most news casts will display the down falls of our work there. God Bless our troops and may we soon be able to bring them home and leave a peaceful nation behind us.
Ruru, Pns, Fl
I served with CPT Patriquin in Ramadi and Tal Afar. He deserves a place in history for his work with the tribal leaders.
He is sorely missed.
Rob Gutkowski, Crozet, VA
We can win this war militarily, but the Iraqi have to do their part. The Anbar experiment was a success. The success has paid for by our brave men and women in uniform who gave thier lives and youth for freedom. Our politicians in all honesty and integrity needs to see the cause of freedom. Our political system with all its sophistication has its weakness and took us more than 200 years to come where we are now. The Iraqi with its diversity are challenged to set aside for reconciliation and unity for sake of the Iraqi people. America, let have patience.
Living Waters, Addison, Illinois, USA
I am currently in Iraq and it is not getting better where I am. We hear that Ramadi is much better now. The only problem with the new strategy is that it is clearly 4 years too late. How can you ask an all volunteer force to continue to spend every other year in Iraq? Would you do it? You are destroying our lives. There has to be a political solution soon or we need to leave these people to their own devices. We should declare victory in the Spring and start to leave as the Joint Chiefs have expressed interest in doing. The U.S. Army clearly can't handle much more of this.
Steve, Baghdad, Iraq,
I was a child during WW II and remember that German soldier who entered our house and took me in his arms and told me he had a little girl like me back in Germany.
So what ? He was probably a decent guy drafted to do Hitler's bidding but such is not the case with most American soldiers.
One decent guy will never erase the million dead nor Abu Ghraib.
snow, damascus,
I am currently training Iraqi Police in Al Anbar. Every thing you mentioned is completely accurate. The sad part is that there are not more brave reporters like yourself willing to print the truth. God Bless.
Steve, Virginia, USA
My son is there and a part of making this happen. I am so proud of what they have done! On a side note, the Sunnis and the Shia may never really reconcile their differences but we will never know if we leave too soon. They are like children learning to walk. Walking is something that most human children aren't born automatically doing even though it is innately something they will do. They will eventually walk by clinging to any stable surface and usually with the help hand of an adult. The Iraqis are at that stage politically right now. They know that they will need to walk on their own politically eventually but they need stability in order to do so. It may take a while but we need to stay until they can really stand on their own. Political differences aside it is the human thing to do.
P Hammond, Edwardsville, KS/USA
It is very nice to see a positive change!!
Pj, Nashville, Tennessee
I think Martin means one of the few American success stories that The Times has felt to be worthy of telling. Still, best to be grateful for what one gets, and publishing a few puts it above the Morning Star and the Independent.
James of England, London,
Brillant! Goes to show that if you dont just barge in and show respect to local leaders how much of a difference you can actually make. Wonderful story and would love to hear more!
Stuart Denoon-Stevens `, Cape Town, South Africa
My thanks for an all-too-rare true journalistic work from Iraq. It made me feel good about being an American; more importantly, it made me rejoice in *humanity*.
Jeffrey Ady, Honolulu, Hawaii
If this is true (which I'd like to think it is). Good on you Yanks. This is what it's all about. Gordon Brown take note
Fran, Cumbernauld,
This is a great story. I wished that brave & competent soldiers such as Captain Travis Patriquin were placed in even higher positions in the US military. Furthermore, i hope the Bush administration rewards his great work. Well done sir!
Mohammed, London, UK
Americans can be some of the politest, most hospitable people in the world. Yet they have a bad image abroad because they fail to use their manners when they leave home. Captain Patriquin was not unusual for an American, just unusual for an American under threat. I remember the story of a US marine a couple of years ago. He used to urinate in public in an Iraqi town. An Iraqi sniper shot him. While I can't condone the murder, would such behaviour have been acceptable in any American place? Of course not. So why be so vulgar abroad? Captain Patriquin serves as a reminder that American hospitality can be more effective than bullets.
Paul Francis, Brisbane, Australia
Just as I feel people in the U.S.A. are denied the negative news about Iraq, I feel that those of us in the E.U. are denied the positive news. This is a heartwarming story and proof-positive that not all U.S. forces are the necklace-of-ears-wearing, My-Lai monsters that they have been portrayed as in European media. The truth is - as always - much more subtle but this causes me to wonder: who is spinning the propoganda on this side of the water? As for the U.S. service personnel referenced in the article, it makes me think of a previous, very famous item of propoganda: "Lions led by donkeys". I salute them.
Loki, Singapore,
Fantastic story. It is good to see that certain areas of the media have the guts to publish success stories in Iraq, rather than the normal stories of death and destruction. The Americans are slowly turning the tide in Iraq. The world needs to know.
Michael, Harrogate, England
"When enough have died, the war will end."- Plato
Daniel G., Boaz, AL, AL/ USA
Thanks for writing this piece. It is nice to hear the successes that usually never make it to print.
Kind regards,
Acacia, Houston, TX, USA
What an inspirational story! And how good to see that not only is progress being made in Iraq, it is also being reported. Here's hoping that this co-operation and success can be replicated across the rest of the country - with more men like Captain Patriquin and Sheikh Sittar, perhaps it can.
KT, Oxford,
Thank you for reporting on this. The US newspapers only report what fits with the conclusions of the grim script they've already written. Support our troops and the brave Iraqi people. They can win. God bless Captain Patriquin.
joan judge, Hudson, MA, USA
You can bet you will wait forever for a positive story like this one to be covered by the anti-american BBC
Brian French, Hong Kong, China
Thank you for sharing this.
My son, Travis, is named after CPT Patriquin who died the week my son was born. I served as the senior Civil Affairs officer in that region during CPT Patriquin's time in Ramadi and the change he led WOULD not have occured (1) had he not been allowed to lean foward into classic counterinsurgency tactics by COL Sean MacFarland (the Brigade Commander) & (2) had he not had the complete support of the Civil Affairs Marines, Soldiers, Sailors and translators.
Again, thank you and Semper Fidelis.
LtCol J. C. Church, Jr., Wayne, USA / Penn.
So true JWK:
Why are there Americans who don't want us to help women vote, get out of the burkha, and bring the backwards middle east forward with a non-violent Iraq??
Jon, Phoenix, AZ
Without wanting to appear cynical it's just a shame there isn't more positive change to report.
Toby Martin, Munich, Germany
Right...our press would not dare to report this, they are
too infatuated with death counts, explosions, etc.
JR, Atlanta,
What an inconvenient contrast to Britain's softly-softly failures in Basra. Goes to show wearing hard hats beats wearing soft ones, conventional British wisdom notwithstanding.
Robert Burnett, las Vegas, Nevada usa
To bad the major US networks and newpapers don't " balance" their coverage of Iraq with stories like this. It also goes to show folks that the American GI , when given the resources and time, can do about anything they set their minds to.
Phil, Auburn, Indiana
Very touching and powerful story. I guess the Times isn't completely anti-American afterall.
Alex, Seattle, USA
Thanks to the Times we can read this. This will never be reported in the mainstream American media because it doesn't fit their socialist "America is evil" agenda.
Mike, Tucumcari, New Mexico/USA
I am the proud English Wife of a United States Marine.
Who serves under Colonel Turner in Ramadi, and I just want to take the time to say thankyou, for reporting on the possitive
our men and women work very hard each and every day to make a difference.
T.H., 29 PALMS CA., U.S.A.
"one of the few American success stories."
Proving once again that It's impossible to celebrate American greatness and success without some snarky, left-handed allusion to failure.
I guess it really hurt you to admit that Ramadi has changed, eh Martin?
MissOrange, oceanside, USA
Yes, the Americans have brought so much good to the good people of Iraq. It is good to see how much good they are doing in Ramadi, like they did in Baghdad and Fallujah and Haditha. It is a shame that over a million good people have now died, but I guess that's just the price of goodness.
Will, Edinburgh,
This is a wonderful article. Will it ever make the headlines? I was in Ramadi during the fighting with Al Queada. I am so glad that the citizens can now live in peace. Ever since I have been home, I have wanted to go back to Ramadi. We even said, back then, if they could ever get rid of Al Quaeda, Ramadi could be a tourist town and maybe we (US Veterans) would have a reunion there someday. Why isn' t this on instead of the negativity? Being a combat vet of Ramadi and losing many friends... This article is the truth. And they didn't die in vain, but restored hope and brought freedom to the wonderful citizens of Ramadi.
Erin Donahue, Pittsburgh PA,
Enough with the snarky kicking of the shins of U.S. media: A simple Googling of CPT Patriquin's name reveals that his story HAS been told in the U.S. media. That issue being settled, we can now address the real question: What could possibly be keeping CPT Patriquin's admirable and successful approach from being replicated on a grand scale? I don't know the answer. In a number proprietary e-forums (e.g., military-only listservs and chatrooms), for example, company- and field-grade officers exchange information about what does/doesn't "work" to accomplish the mission. I'd be surprised if CPT Patriquin's activities were unknown by those who could learn from and borrow/apply them. My hunch is that at some elite level of government, dumbjohns are nixing or "yeah-but"-ing involvements or interventions that mirror those launched by this visionary and resourceful officer whom we have lost.
David Weber, Wilmington, NC
George Bush learned his lesson from his Daddy's cakewalk over Panama. In a bloodless battle which lasted less than 48 hours, his dad victoriously herded his troops back home, carrying the sack that contained Manuel Noriega, the former Panamanian president. And, life went on as usual for the passive Panamanians. No post-war insurgency. No Al Qaeda. Junior Bush dreamed of the same scenario in Iraq, too. But astonishingly, to Bush's dismay and disbelief, the Arabs turned out to be quiet different from the Panamanians. A rare breed of die-hard bunch of 'Jihadys' who brave death, looking forward to enter that fast-track to Paradise where 12 virgins waiting for the Jihady with their wine-filled chalices. Unlike the Panamanians, for the Arabs, humiliation is something to be wiped out in blood, where consent or compromise have no relevance. As such, peace in Ramadi is nothing but a momentary interlude before another major conflict. The west has to abandon its dream of democratisation of ME
mathew, Mumabi, India
THANK YOU!
There is NO WAY This story would EVER make it on the nightly news (if you could even call it that) here in the U.S.
I commend all of our troops and their deaths are not "IN VAIN" as we are being told day after day.
Brian Glatfelter, Southgate, Michigan/USA
there is still some hope... but it may not be up to iraq and iraqi people what happens to their country.
wr, bristol,
One of the "few" American success stories? Excuse me?...
Frank Salvato, Chicago, United States
Thank you for telling this story. DRS
DRS, Omaha, NE, USA
This is a good story about the good that can happen in Iraq. It's too bad that so many in this country don't want to acknowledge that positive change can happen there.
JWK, Como, Mississippi
Hmmmm no comments here yet. Am I early...or is it that no one else wants to admit to American successes?
Murph, Madisonville, USA/KY
Thank you for printing this story, something positive that is happening in Iraq, and something positive that American Soldiers are doing. There are some good things that are happening, but the media rarely reports it, even though it is important to hear. I'm glad Captain Patriquin has received admiration from the people he wanted to help and I hope their good fortune continues to grow.
Mary Catherine, Elmhurst, US/IL
Please do not let any Democrat see this this, they are committed to Al-Queda winning.
Desmond Taylor, h, USA Tx