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In the end, however, the battle for Halabja seemed inconclusive. President Bush last week referred to the destruction of Ansar's base as one of the war's important early achievements. But it may be a limited one. In Halabja, U.S. commando Mark says, "A lot of the senior cadre fled a long time ago, leaving a fanatical hard core to stay for the last stand. They had little intention of surviving." The Americans blasting away at the holdouts recognize this and lament opportunities lost. "This is my second time in northern Iraq," says a special-forces soldier. "I should be in Tampa with my wife enjoying spring break. Instead I'm here, and I wouldn't be if we'd done this right the first time."
For Charlie Rock, No Hero's Welcome AS SAMAWAH ALEX PERRY
Charlie Rock company's patch of desert has been quiet for 24 hours when First Sergeant William Mitchell hears something on the radio. His face stiffens with the information. He leans out of the wind into his half-track, wincing at the sandstorm whipping around his face from the rear. He grabs his M-4 assault rifle and halfway out of the track's back door yells at his master gunner, Sergeant Robert Jones, "You need to call HQ right now and tell them we have 10 men, 200 meters to the north, with AKs and RPGs." Jones jumps on the radio. "Break, break, this is Checkpoint Zero, Zero, Two, Two. We have possible contact with enemy soldiers. We are checking it out and moving into position now." The reply is instant. "Zero, Zero, Two, Two, this is Battle Five. If you have positive IDs, do not wait for them to fire. Destroy them."
Outside, Mitchell links up with Lieut. Robert Carnahan and two six-man squads from White Platoon carrying M16s, heavy SAWs (squad automatic weapons) and 240-Bravo machine guns. Flanking them are three Bradley fighting vehicles. Mitchell, 34, briefs his men that a passing farmer has told a sentry about 10 men sweeping around for an ambush. On his command, the Americans run north through the choking red dust and throw themselves on the ground against a nearby railway track. "Jesus, we can't see s___!" says Carnahan. The squads hold their positions as the bradleys scan the area with thermal imagers. Nothing. Carnahan then gets a call from brigade. "We have a new mission," he announces to his men. "We're pulling out and moving back east to another checkpoint." Pause. "Dammit. Pull back again?"
When the commanders of the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division spoke to their men on the eve of war, they talked about being the fighting vanguard of a force that would be "liberating" Iraq. In the ranks, the soldiers ate it up. They envisioned scenes like the liberation of Paris, with jubilant locals welcoming them.