Don’t worry, they won’t shoot!
Published 04 October, 2008, 09:12
Ukrainian military officer and journalist Dmitri Timchuk spent more then a year in Iraq with the Ukrainian troops stationed there. RT is the first to publish his observations of daily life in the Middle Eastern country in English. (Part V)
Not the right desert (Part II)
Americans happy to sleep with bugs (Part III)
Building the future: brick-by-brick (Part IV)
So GIs prefer shooting to investigating. They are officially the invaders, so it’s OK for them to do it. We, as peacekeepers, cannot afford to start fire without special permission from above. This is not always a good thing for our guys. This became obvious in Al Kut on April 6 this year and in the unrest at the beginning of the summer.
A 22-year old Sergeant tells the story: “I was on my guard duty and saw an Arab guy across the street. All of a sudden he starts loading his AT-7 grenade launcher, obviously getting ready to fire at our post. I send a radio report asking what I should do. I get the reply – ‘Don’t shoot! You are under the Ukrainian flag. We are peacekeepers and the Arabs know it. They won’t shoot!”
But they do – and the fire is quite heavy. Maybe they are colour-blind, and can’t tell the the peaceful Ukrainian flag. Maybe there are other reasons – but they’re shooting. Our status is not clear and it causes many mishaps. It’s almost like we need to get permission from the General Staff in Kiev to open fire. This does not help the Ukrainian peacekeepers to feel safe or be effective here.
Another problem is the lack of trust between our guys and the local military and police. It’s understandable. Many Iraqis join the IP, ING, IBP (border police) or FPS (guard service). It is practically considered bad manners for an Iraqi family not to have at least one man in uniform. Moreover, $US 70 is good money by local standards. The job is easy, plus you get to carry a gun. But the large number of policemen doesn’t make this a safer place. For example, during the events of April 6 in Al Kut, local cops decided that the best plan of action would be to let all prisoners out of their cells and lock themselves in there instead!
“ We understand why local police are so unprofessional,” says head of Military Police, Sub-Colonel Andrey Narkevich, “and it’s not just because they’re scared, although fear is a big factor. For example, before April 6 the police were threatened by the militants. Had they got involved they would have been killed along with their family members. Another thing is also that almost all the leaders, including the head of Wasit Province Police Department, are former soldiers from Hussein’s army, so they don’t have any special training. The situation has changed now. Newcomers get professional training at special centres of the Police Academy. Ukrainians teach them their own tricks, for example firing instructions, since they have the same weapons. But we are still military. So they get special police training from American instructors who come from the States. And, believe me, it’s amazing how quickly the local policemen learn from them.”
Sub-Colonel Narkevich is right. There was another attempted coup this past August. However, this time police and guards handled it on their own without Ukrainian help. Well, if locals now have the power in the country, they need to learn how to use it.
No dogs allowed
It is a well-known fact that Ukrainians love animals and, even in the hot spot, they feel they can’t do without pets. It is no use bringing cats to Iraq, Ukrainian kittens can’t cope with the heat and died, even though they were well cared for. But there are many local wild cats on the Ukrainian Delta base territory. Just like in Ukraine, their favourite spots are rubbish skips, especially those near the canteen. During the day cats usually hide, but at night you have to be careful around the bins – there is always the risk of running into a wild cat, that panics and jumps at you blinded by its fear of humans.
Unlike dogs, cats are impossible to domesticate. Our peacekeepers get pet dogs, and they become everybody’s favorites. Local Arabs don’t appreciate their four-legged neighbours. It seems like they barely get along with animals. It’s not unusual to see an Arab man beating a dog, and it doesn’t shock anyone. Dogs are “unclean” animals for Muslims. To be exact, according to Islam, it is not even the dog itself that is “unclean”, but its saliva. An Arab may bare the presence of a fluffy guard at his doorstep, but he will never let the dog inside the house as it would defile his household. At the beginning of the war in Iraq, Americans made a big mistake, searching Iraqi homes with dogs. This did not help them make friends with the locals.
Lunch of the jackal
As you approach the camp of the 72nd battalion, you are greeted by two red-haired dogs – the local guards. They joyfully wag their tails at anyone wearing a Ukrainian “safari” uniform – to them these people are friends. One time we had a Ukrainian journalist in regular clothes with us, complete with blue “media” bullet-proof vest. I don’t know how our friend managed to escape being bitten – there was certainly a lot of growling and barking and the dogs tried to attack the poor guy. Oh well, what can you do, you have to wear the “right” clothes.
Ukrainian soldiers keep the dogs on the base not just because they like pets, and not even to protect the premises from Arabs. The camp of the battalion is located on the Delta territory, so strangers cannot get here. There is another problem though – coyotes. Of course, they are not a threat to soldiers, but these thieves steal anything they can carry -not to mention the irritating and depressing wailing by the barracks at night. But with dogs on the base, jackals don’t come anywhere near.
There was an incident at the camp once. There are observation units along the perimeter of Delta base. Soldiers here register practically everything they see from their platform in a special diary, as instructed. At one of the units, inspectors found this record made by a diligent soldier: «4.37, a jackal ran past. He had an American lunch pack in his teeth. Probably, stole it». Apparently, this theft of American food made our guy very sad.
Story and photos courtesy of Dmitri Timchuk
The vampire gets stung (Part VI)
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