The Guns of Iraq

[Titan6]

Beatnik- Part of the problem is that individual rights are not a well understood concept in Iraq. I could write volumes on the subject and still not convey it properly. The identity of an Arab man is less about self and more about relationships with those around him. I say man because women are not really considered at all outside the concepts of wife and motherhood.

If you ask an average Iraqi about gun ownership they will say it is necessary for a man to defend his family, tribe, mosque, village or whatever. Defense of self or personal property is not really considered openly; if it all.

 

[bobbarker]

Pretty good write up. Though it seems a lot of your info differs from what I've seen there, and I find myself wondering if it is just because of a difference in location, US Force, IP, IA Presence in those areas. Example: Where I was at last time (Just south of Lake Thar Thar, Not far from Baghdad/Fallujah/Karma) They were not allowed to have pistols, period. Pistols were reserved for Mujahadeen, and are still not allowed. Accurate on the 1 AK, With 1 Mag. They were also allowed to carry one RPG. The other difference I noticed (Definately has to do with different areas) Is that the Majority of people weren't armed. I Know you're thinking we just didn't find them, but I'm telling you, we ripped a lot of these houses apart, and we did find a lot of hidden stuff, but a good portion of the time, the families had no weapons.

To clarify an earlier question, about grounds for seizure, it is 100% discriminatory. Iraqi Police and Iraqi army will take when they want, and leave when they want, with no seeming pattern. Also, every Military Aged Male(MAM) is allowed to have one AK with Magazine. The law makes no distinction about weapons per household, as long as It doesn't exceed the number of MAM's in that house.

As for the question about how military feels with the populace being armed, It goes both ways. I hated it, for obvious reasons, everyone could be a terrorist, and so, you worry that everyone you look at with a weapon could be. On the other hand, a lot of the people over there are decent folks, and have helped us to find terrorists, and have even killed a few for us, and turned over bodies.

All questions about the legitimacy of government agency seizures of weapons (Or anything for that matter.) can be answered by just letting you know that Iraqi Police are some of the shadiest individuals most of you will never have to meet. They will steal anything, confiscate the rest, and more often then not, sell it, or keep it for themselves. Common practice with Vehicles left behind by dead insurgents is to take for personal use, or turn into Iraqi police vehicle. Seen it first hand, several times.

The mosques having stockpiles, was pretty ****ty, but you have to understand that Mosques are not just religous centers, but also town gathering areas. While it sucked, I was much happier seeing the 50-60 AK's locked in the mosque than in 50-60 different homes in the city. And that was pretty frequent, for townspeople to keep their weapons at the mosque. Safer from robbery there, and the IP/IA won't confiscate them from the mosque. Again, it goes both ways.

A great write up. I do enjoy hearing how things differ in different parts of the country then just what we had down by us. Also, I feel for you being stuck out there with the Haaji's. We had to work a lot with IA and they STINK. But I digress, Keep up the good work, stay safe.

 

[Titan6]

BobBarker- I spent about two months earlier this year exactly where you were and can tell you it indeed different in different areas. RPGs are a no go just about everywhere now including all of Al Anwar and will be seized unless (maybe) they are in a mosque or (maybe) held by a private security force. Pistols, it depends on where and who you are. Because they are high dollar the ISF jump on them like they are gold and seize them from just about anybody, sometimes even each other. However if you are powerful enough you can pretty much hold on to them.

Good point on the mosque being different than most churches in the US. I have seen churches in the US that are similar though. Out in Tyler, TX for example some of the churches have schools, bowling alleys, movie theaters, community centers and large sports facilities.

So far as not finding guns well... we have 5 terps assigned to our team. They all live near Baghdad. They have all had their houses searched by US and ISF multiple times. Only one had his AK taken. He went out and replaced the next day.

I have learned quite a lot about hiding weapons and tell you they are there. They just continue to get better at hiding them. Also depending upon the area they may well know before the police show up to search that they are coming and hide it outside the house. There are some areas (think open sewers and fecal ponds) that are simply not searched. Other areas (think roofs and and plumbing) that are not often searched well.

 

[AndyC]

What is your opinion of the private security firms (contractors) like Blackwater and the work they do? In general, how are the viewed by U.S. military personnel? I realize that most if not all of them are ex-military. Is there a comraderie between Blackwater/private contractors and U.S. Military personnel or is there animosity?

I can give you an answer from a contractor's perspective, and it's quite simple - we like and support the soldiers because we were them once too. How could we not?

There is envy from some soldiers about the money we make - but from my personal perspective, that's just too damn bad and I could care less about their envy; you walk before you can run in life and we've (well, most of us, anyway) put in our time and earned our progression up the ladder. We're doing more with less and are outside the wire every single day - specialized protective skills plus experience plus big risk = big reward. One day those boys and girls will be in a position to do the same thing.