British Try a Softer Approach With Civilians

Many British troops, airmen and marines across southern Iraq have put aside their helmets in favor of berets, floppy hats and bare heads as they patrol the recently taken towns of Safwan, Umm al Qasr and Shuaybah.

Adopting a softer approach as quickly as possible is just one of the tactics the British military has developed after decades of operating in tumultuous quasi-urban environments in Northern Ireland, the Balkans and Cyprus, among others.

“I think we’re probably the best anti-guerrilla warfare army in the world,” said Cpl. Mac McGuiness of the 1st Fusiliers, a veteran of conflicts in Northern Ireland and Bosnia. “We’ve lived with it.”

By adopting a less-aggressive stance within four days of crossing the border from Kuwait, British troops are attempting to separate two objectives of urban warfare: allaying the fears of civilians to win support as they strike at the “baddies,” as some call them.

“There’s no point in going in with a heavy hand,” said Maj. Paul Nanson of the Irish Guards. “It only makes more work for you.”

One of the most important lessons culled from Northern Ireland has been the use of checkpoints. Around Basra, these are used to stem the flow of weapons and fighters into Iraq’s second-largest city and help in the capture of Fedayeen Saddam fighters, senior Baath Party officials and other members of the regime attempting to flee the area.

In addition, the checkpoints provide troops with insight into the mood of the local population and give residents a way to make contact with the military without attracting the suspicion of government loyalists.

“This way, they can pull us aside quietly,” said Sgt. Ian Pickford of the 1st Battalion of the Irish Guards, “whereas when they’re in a crowd, everyone’s wondering why.”

The British image contrasts with that of their American counterparts, many of whom look like robo-cops intent on taking no chances. But some British military observers say it is unfair to compare the stance of the two forces. The British, they say, have had time to settle in near Basra, whereas U.S. Marines have continued to advance north, moving through ever more dangerous turf on the road to Baghdad.

“The threat perception is considerably greater up north where the Americans are, and that vulnerability is obviously going to put them on edge,” said retired Maj. Ken Hames, who fought in the Falklands War, the 1991 Persian Gulf War and Northern Ireland. “If I was a commander up there, I would tell my men, ‘We are not getting out of the vehicles unless we have to.’ ”

The British have yet to face a suicide bombing, as the Marines did near Najaf, in central Iraq. Four Marines were killed Saturday when an Iraqi soldier drove his taxi to a checkpoint and detonated a bomb.

British platoon commanders say they have carefully designed their checkpoints based on years of trial and error in Northern Ireland.

At the Azubayr Bridge checkpoint, the last one before the no-man’s land ringing Basra, the British have positioned two Challenger tanks well ahead that warn platoon members by radio when suspicious vehicles approach. Next comes a search area, then four observation towers watching for snipers, and finally a dead zone in the middle, sandwiched between tanks to minimize any damage if someone does slip through.

The checkpoints nonetheless are focused more on maintaining a flow than attempting to catch everything in sight. “The vast majority of traffic is waved through,” said Lt. William Hawley with the Irish Guards’ 1st Battalion. “We’re trying to let normal life continue as much as possible.”

The checkpoints may appear chaotic, but that’s often a reflection of the number of tasks underway nearly simultaneously -- including handing out leaflets, providing first aid, searching vehicles, responding to incoming mortars and gunfire, talking with vehicle occupants and directing traffic.

On Wednesday, troops at the Azubayr Bridge handed out leaflets depicting a soldier and an Iraqi shaking hands under a message that read in part: “Residents of Basra, we’re here to liberate Iraq. Our enemy is the Baath Party, not the people.... This time, we’ll stay together with you until the end.”

Some Basra residents said they agreed with the sentiment, while others were less than impressed. “Quite honestly, this paper isn’t going to do anything,” said Ali Abdel, a 29-year-old bus driver. “I’m going to take it home and show it to my wife and kids for a laugh.”

Troops say they’re also aware that merely carrying the leaflets can earn villagers the Fedayeen Saddam’s wrath or worse.

Another key part of the equation, troops said, is patrolling to build local trust. “We don’t want to be aggressive if people are with us, or nearly with us,” said Capt. Andy Bell of the 17 Port and Maritime Regiment.

Although British are acknowledged as experts in urban and anti-guerrilla warfare, anything they can do to weaken local resistance in advance makes the eventual task that much easier.

“I’m sure Basra is an absolute rabbit warren of sewers, alleys and the like,” Hawley said. “I don’t think we’d ever win either like that. It would become like Vietnam.”

Patrols also help teach British troops signs that foreshadow danger. In Northern Ireland, for instance, a neighborhood with most of its windows open often foreshadowed a bomb blast: People who knew about the bomb didn’t want their glass panes blown out. Seemingly innocent banging of garbage cans also meant locals were trying to signal the troops’ arrival.

Most British troops acknowledge that they are a long way from understanding Iraqi customs and culture, but they point to body language and common-sense indicators of danger, like seeing a usually busy market that’s suddenly empty.

Commanders said delivering water, food, medicine and electricity is not only beneficial in a humanitarian sense but essential to blunting resistance. In the southern village of Safwan on Wednesday, troops funneled Iraqis one at a time to a water truck to fill up in the searing heat.

That wasn’t enough, however, to win over trader Ali Mohammed, 38, who lives in Umm al Qasr.

“We’re Arab, they’re British, and they must go home,” he said. “By giving us water, they’re just giving us what we already had before.”

Patrols and raids also reduce threats designed to instill fear in residents. This week, a raid netted 15 senior Baath Party officials in and around Safwan. It turned up lists of key local party members and a memo supposedly written by Ali Hassan Majid, the notorious Hussein lieutenant known as “Chemical Ali,” who is accused of gassing thousands of Kurdish civilians in 1988.

“We’re sending a message here that we’re in power and control,” said Omar Dawoud Filakawi, an interpreter for the British.

The hoped-for payoff is a local population that starts to identify with the troops, turning to them for security. Shoppers at a market in Umm al Qasr on Wednesday stopped a passing British patrol to have the troops arbitrate a dispute between desperate Iraqis seeking free water and a water truck owner bent on profiteering. “We want troops to supervise it,” villagers told Sgt. Maj. Zach Printer.

This must be balanced against a willingness to fight, troops add. Before they arrived, they were given training modeled on the Northern Ireland experience, involving riot suppression, humanitarian delivery, local customs and staying flexible.

Despite the similarities, however, troops stress that each conflict is different.

Even as the British share information with the Americans on Iraqi weaknesses, organization and tactics, British troops said they expect Basra is also relaying insights on British weaknesses north to Baghdad.

“They’ll do something, we’ll catch on, and vice versa,” said Hawley. “It’s all a bit cat and mouse.”

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Special correspondent William Wallace in London contributed to this report.