IRAQ: Not as violent but much more complicated

In his office at regimental headquarters at Al Asad, Col. Patrick Malay keeps a picture of three young Marines who served under him when he was a battalon commander during the fight for Fallouja in late 2004.

In the picture, the three enlisted look old beyond their years.

Within days of the photo being taken, two -- Erick Hodges and Christopher Adlesperger -- had been killed in combat. The third -- Ryan Sunnerville -- was wounded.

The 3rd battalion, 5th Regiment was in the thick of the fighting, with Malay leading from the front. Nearly four years later, Malay's thoughts are never far from Hodges, Adlesperger, Sunnerville and the other Marines and sailors in his command who were killed or wounded in Fallouja.

Now he's back in Iraq, this time as regimental commander, with a mission that, for the most part, does not include combat.

On Monday, he'll brief the Pentagon press corps via teleconference on the progress in the western reaches of Al Anbar province.

"It's not as violent," Malay says of his current assignment. "But it's much, much more complicated."

The complications involve maintaining an alliance between the U.S. and the Sunni sheiks, stitching together provincial and local governments, and trying to stimulate economic growth. Anbar is a mix of the modern and the ancient.

"How is it that people who can't read or write are sitting on donkey carts with wooden wheels talking on cellphones," he said.

One challenge is to get the Iraqis to stop the internecine violence. "The killing has to stop: Blood begets blood. We've told them, 'Yes, it takes a man to avenge, but it takes more of a man not to avenge and to go by the rule of law."

Much of the regiment's efforts involve supporting the work of the Provincial Reconstruction Teams, a joint effort of the military, State Department and various nongovernmental agencies. "In many ways they're the focus of our main effort," he said.

Malay tends to be blunt-spoken and does not hype up his successes or downplay the problems, including rivalries between sheiks, difficulties getting the Iraqi army and police to work together, and the lack of initiative among Iraqis after three decades of a state-controlled economy under Saddam Hussein.

"I have no illusions of grandeur, no great expectations," he said. "But we're making progress, we're getting traction."

And while the overall mission is what the Marines call "non-kinetic," Malay's forces are still ready to engage the enemy, particularly in the wide-open desert where insurgent forces may be massing.

"We're still a war-fighting machine, able to locate, close, engage and destroy. I think our efforts should be focused on flushing out these murderous bastards who are laying low until we leave."

—Tony Perry, in Al Asad

Photo: Col. Patrick Malay, commanding officer, Camp Pendleton-based 5th Marine Regiment. Credit: U.S. Marine Corps

P.S. The Los Angeles Times issues a free daily newsletter with the latest headlines from the Middle East, the war in Iraq and the confrontation between the West and Islam. You can subscribe by registering at the website here, logging in here and clicking on the World: Mideast newsletter box here.