Searches of Homes Just Plain Rude, Iraqis Say

TIKRIT, Iraq -- The sheik, patriarch of his tribe, called the recent sweep of his house by U.S. troops an exercise in rudeness and disrespect -- even though soldiers uncovered a cache of illegal arms.

“The Americans don’t understand the sanctity of the home in the Arab world,” Sheik Khazal Mahdi Saleh complained Monday as he sat with a dozen outraged family members on his patio in a rural suburb of this central Iraqi city.

Early today, the U.S. military began the third day of Operation Sidewinder, designed to root out resistance to occupying forces. Teams of troops have been raiding homes, businesses and other sites searching for arms, intelligence and wanted members of Saddam Hussein’s government.

Arab media images of U.S. troops entering Iraqi homes, ordering terrified residents outside and rummaging through their possessions have touched deep emotional and cultural chords here. Such searches have emerged as a flash point for confrontations between Iraqis and occupying troops, notably the killing of six British military police officers near the southern city of Basra last week.

Thus far, the latest operation has resulted in about 180 arrests, including a former colonel in Hussein’s regime. The military has targeted the Tikrit area, the ousted dictator’s birthplace and home to many of his loyalists.

U.S. officials say the searches are absolutely essential. The frequent sweeps -- whether part of special operations or not -- are conducted under strict guidelines and ultimately save lives and contribute to stability, according to the U.S. military.

“We only go into homes when there’s some intelligence information that leads us there,” said Army Lt. Col. Bill MacDonald, spokesman for the 4th Infantry Division, which is spearheading the latest operation in a huge swath of central Iraq. “Commanders ensure that soldiers conduct themselves very professionally.”

A Kind of Defilement

Part of the combustible nature of searches here appears cultural. While homes are cherished in virtually all cultures, the notion of home as an inviolate shelter seems especially ingrained in the Arab world. Many Iraqis view the notion of armed men -- particularly foreigners -- entering their homes by force as a kind of defilement.

“How do these soldiers have the right to come into my home like this?” Saleh asked.

During searches, women are separated from men, a standard security procedure that, U.S. officials say, lessens the risk of danger to innocent civilians in operations that can quickly devolve into volatile confrontations.

But some Iraqis see something sinister.

“We cannot have our women out of sight of the men,” said Saleh, 65, an imposing man in traditional headdress and robe who commands great respect in his native village, Al Boajeel, just outside Tikrit.

MacDonald, the Army spokesman here, could provide no details about the raid on Saleh’s home.

Family members and residents said the operation took place shortly after midnight Friday.

According to the family, about 30 U.S. troops arrived in a dozen vehicles, bursting in and surrounding the compound, where many were sleeping.

The troops handcuffed most of the men and separated them from the women, the family said. Some men were blindfolded -- another common practice.

The search lasted until dawn, the family said. Troops seized a cache of weapons and arrested eight men, all tribal members, the family said.

Residents say they were also quizzed about a top Hussein bodyguard, a man known for his brutality who is being sought by U.S. authorities.

“We know nothing about this man,” said Sajid Khazal Mahdi, the sheik’s 34-year-old son.

Nonetheless, the family is quite sympathetic toward Hussein -- a not-unusual sentiment in a region lavished with funding and favors by the former president. “Saddam was so giving,” Khazal said of the man labeled a tyrant by most Iraqis. “The Americans are only taking.”

Looting Alleged

According to the family, U.S. troops also made off with about 5.5 million Iraqi dinars, the equivalent of about $4,000, part of which was culled from the recent sale of some sheep and was to be used for a medical procedure for the sheik’s ailing wife. The family calls this looting -- an allegation frequently leveled at the U.S. military here.

U.S. officials dismissed the charge. “We don’t steal people’s money,” said MacDonald, the Army spokesman.

Another explanation is that the money was confiscated, along with the weapons, as possible illegal proceeds. Military officials say funds seized in searches may be returned if the owner demonstrates they were acquired legitimately.

As for the weapons, the sheik said the family had found them at an abandoned military facility nearby and was storing them for safekeeping. The U.S. military did not believe that explanation, he said, and arrested eight tribesmen in connection with the seizure.

“We don’t know where these men are,” the sheik said. “We would like to bring them some food.”

U.S. officials have set up liaison offices in Tikrit and other cities where relatives may inquire about detained loved ones, confiscated property and other issues, MacDonald said. “They just have to go down and ask,” he said.

Family members say they have no idea where to go.

“We are simple people, farmers,” the sheik said as his relatives nodded in quiet assent. “Yet the Americans come into our homes by force.... Where is the democracy that the Americans promised?”