By Michael Georgy
REUTERS
6:01 a.m. December 5, 2003
TIKRIT, Iraq – Armed to the teeth, U.S. Army Rangers drive through Saddam Hussein's hometown at night pumped up for action but resigned to probable tedium.
Tough infantry soldiers with camouflage leaves on their helmets find mostly stray dogs along back alleys, not gunmen loyal to the toppled Iraqi president.
The soldiers are out looking for fugitive senior Iraqi officials who may know where Saddam is hiding.
It won't be easy. Most patrols don't lead to a breakthrough because many Saddam loyalists have already been arrested, making fresh intelligence hard to come by.
So some U.S. troops turn to humor to break the monotony.
"Ladies and gentlemen fasten your seat belts. Escape routes are located on the right, left, front, rear and above,'"' said specialist Michael Bressette, pretending to be an airliner attendant on his radio.
Big news of a capture would ease the boredom and raise hopes that troops may go home sooner.
But in the meantime, American soldiers can only keep navigating their Humvees through Tikrit, keeping their headlights off to avoid attack as they hope for a lead.
One tip came recently when men in a white pick-up truck with rocket-propelled grenades asked Iraqis for directions to a government ministry. The Iraqis told the police and they informed U.S. soldiers.
"That would suggest the men were foreigners, not Iraqis," said Lieutenant-Colonel Steven Russell, commander of the 1-22 battalion of the 4th Infantry Division.
"This shows how Iraqis are cooperating with us."
HIDDEN DANGERS
Russell's night patrol stopped a white pick-up truck at a quiet intersection late Thursday. There were no RPGs and the motorist drove away shortly after he was cleared.
In between inspecting a few motorists, U.S. troops stop and examine objects on the side of the road, fearing guerrillas may detonate an improvised explosive device as their Humvee passes.
The explosives, which have killed many soldiers, are hidden everywhere – in cement cinder blocks, soft drink cans, cigarette packets and even under the carcasses of dogs and cats.
Soldiers mostly chat to kill time in a town where the only action at night seems to be a few Iraqis at a gasoline station to avoid long lines during the day.
"I remember this one time I bumped the jeep into a dog when it attacked the vehicle ahead," said one soldier.
Minutes later they drove back to the base, a former Saddam palace complex now complete with entertainment – basketball, table tennis, and a swimming pool overlooking the Tigris river.
Each week, troops conduct about one hundred night patrols in the Tikrit area. The city has calmed down considerably over the last few months. But soldiers can't afford to relax.
"Soldiers can't get too comfortable or they will be killed," said Sergeant Major Salvadore Martinez. "Tikrit is not the wild West it used to be. But soldiers still have to be very careful."
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