After moving to Baghdad’s traditionally Sunni Adhamiya district last June, Marckwardt barely dodged a grenade on his first patrol. He responded with a cordial letter to the neighborhood. “It’s an honor to be in Adhamiya,” he wrote. “Adhamiya is known worldwide. The Abu Hanifa mosque [a local landmark] is known worldwide.” His soldiers handed out copies on patrol. “I just felt that it was a good way to spread a message,” he says. He put his soldiers to work taking barricades off the streets. A few Iraqis immediately joined in.
Greater cultural sensitivity has long been a goal of the U.S. Army in Iraq, but only lately, as soldiers come back for the second or third time and deploy deeper into Baghdad neighborhoods, has it become a reality. It’s paid off. Late last summer, Marckwardt bonded with a soft-spoken university professor named Abu Muthana over their shared love of Spanish. Disillusioned with the insurgency, Abu Muthana now commands a U.S.-supported neighborhood patrol group. “We thought the Americans were our enemy,” he says. “But we Iraqis woke up and realized we have a common enemy.” That’s not all they have in common.
