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The G.I.s of Task Force 1/9 admit to a growing dread about the persistence of the insurgency. "My initial feeling when I'm told we're going back in there is 'damn.' You sit and shake your head," says Staff Sergeant Bryan Keeping. Tynes tells his crew to pray, "'cause you never know what's going to happen. We could have a good day, and they could have a bad day. Or maybe not." Or maybe both. Late last month, after a joint U.S.-Iraqi sweep of Haifa Street, the Iraqi government announced that 263 had been detained in a sweep for "insurgents"--a suspect figure, given that most of the detainees were Shi'ites and the bulk of the hard-core insurgents in this neighborhood are Sunnis. What wasn't reported is that Task Force 1/9 was ambushed three minutes into the operation and hit by 26 RPGs, eight roadside bombs and relentless small-arms fire during the gun battles that followed. One grenade landed just 3 ft. from Captain Foley; a concrete fence and the quick reactions of the specialist who pushed Foley out of the way are all that saved him. "We handed them their arses, but we were lucky," says Foley. "Each morning I thank God we got outta there that day." No one knows about the next time.