'Concerned Local Citizens' Help Stop Extremists
January 25, 2008
On my recent trip to Iraq, I spent nearly a week with soliders from the 3rd Infantry Division in an area called Arab Jabour, south of Baghdad. In some of my upcoming news features about the trip, you'll be able to see footage of the progress that's taking place there for yourselves.
In Arab Jabour, soldiers located an improvised explosive device while conducting a presence patrol in the area. The IED consisted of two Artillery shells attached to a detonation cord.
Another IED was discovered by Concerned Local Citizens and reported to U.S. forces in the area. While investigating the initial IED, an explosive ordnance disposal team in support of the soldiers located something more - a cache of 100 pounds of unknown bulk explosives. The EOD technicians quickly disposed of both with a controlled detonation. The result? a safer Arab Jabour for soldiers and civilians alike.
The locals appreciate this work very much: many of the IED's emplaced in the area aren't aimed at our troops - the enemy is using them to take revenge on local citizens for not accepting the extremist views they hold. But with every civilian that is harmed by an insurgent weapon, the enemy's cause suffers that much more. I have a feeling that Dale Carnegie's timeless classic, How To Win Friends And Influence People hasn't been translated into Arabic. Maybe somebody should get on that - these extremists need a lesson in winning hearts and minds. Last time I checked, blowing people up was not on his list of "Six ways to make people like you."
Nearby, CLCs also discovered another weapons cache. The cache consisted of four 120 mm mortar rounds, two 60 mm mortar rounds, two 57 mm projectiles with detonation cord attached, and one rocket-propelled grenade.
The citizens took the cache to soldiers, knowing that U.S. forces are offering rewards for such things.
More good stuff to follow.
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