Marines take over civilian homes
'Necessary evil'disruptive to life
By ANTONIO CASTANEDA
The Associated Press
October 28. 2005 8:00AM
HADITHA, Iraq - The Marines call it a necessary evil - taking over houses and buildings for military use. For the Iraqis who become unwilling hosts, it can be anything from a mild inconvenience to a disruption that tears apart lives.
A trembling woman wept when Marines tried to requisition her home to set up an observation post with a view of a nearby road where a bomb had been planted. The Marines quickly left, using her neighbor's rooftop instead.
"We try to be respectful and not destroy anything in their homes,"said Cpl. Joseph Dudley of Los Gatos, Calif., with the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment. "We just borrow their house and try to complete our missions."
Requisitioning homes or other buildings has been widespread in Iraq for U.S. troops on missions who stay far away from bases, sometimes for several days or weeks. During major offensives, the temporary bases deep inside cities allow troops to send out more patrols and respond quickly to attacks rather than going all the way back to bases on the outskirts of town.
Some homeowners politely treat the Marines as welcome guests. But the Marines also run the risk of alienating residents.
Dhiya Hamid al-Karbuli, a truck driver from a village near the Syrian border, said he fled with his wife, six children, his brother, sister and mother after U.S. troops commandeered their home last month.
"They broke into my house before Ramadan and they are still there," he told the Associated Press by telephone from his brother's home in Baghdad. "We were not able to tolerate seeing them damage our house in front of our very eyes . . . I was afraid to ask them to leave."
"They were eating our food. They took all the food from the refrigerator and used all our stored junk food, too. The major gave me $20 so we could shop for ourselves and for them. It was not enough."
Most U.S. troops in Iraq live in air-conditioned, relatively comfortable bases with such luxuries as Internet access and widescreen televisions. But others have to rough it, particularly when patrolling western Iraq, a turbulent area the size of West Virginia where few bases are within city centers.
For the Iraqis, the intrusion can be disruptive, especially when troops conduct nighttime drills with loud but harmless explosions and armored vehicles pass through at all hours of the day.
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