EasP FILES:

Yemen Willing to Send Peacekeepers to Iraq (AHMED AL-HAJ, Associated Press)

Yemen is willing to send peacekeeping forces to Iraq, but only if they form part of a force that is under U.N. control, Foreign Ministry officials said Friday.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press that Yemen was discussing plans to send forces to Iraq now that sovereignty has been transferred to an interim Iraqi government.

Iraqi-led security missions begin: More than 600 Iraqi National Guard troops and police launched a military operation in Mosul Thursday. (Ann Scott Tyson, 7/02/04, The Christian Science Monitor)

Hundreds of Iraqi troops and police armed with AK-47s swarmed through a troubled district of Mosul at dawn Thursday, launching the first major military operation conceived and led by Iraq's new security forces.

More than 600 Iraqi National Guard (ING) troops and city police, backed by an outer cordon of 150 US troops, swept the Al Antezar neighborhood in a house-to-house dragnet, confiscating weapons and detaining several terrorist suspects.

The ambitious operation, ordered by the Nineveh Province governor a day after the transfer of power, amounted to a robust - if at times chaotic - show of force intended to demonstrate that Iraqi authorities are taking security into their own hands.

"Now we have to gain the public trust," says Lt. Col. Ragheed Khalid Mohammed, the jaunty commander of an Iraqi National Guard battalion that took part in the operation. "We need 1,000 friends, and not one enemy."

U.S. troops see change in attitude of Iraqi forces (Chris Tomlinson, 7/02/04, The Associated Press)

Not much has changed for U.S. troops since the handover of power to an Iraqi government. The blowing dust, searing heat and guerrilla war still make life miserable, and the daily routine remains eat, patrol, raid, guard and sleep.

The one improvement, however, is a new enthusiasm among the soldiers' Iraqi counterparts — the security forces intended to take over so the Americans can go home. The Iraqis are showing greater pride and initiative under a sovereign government than under the U.S.-led occupation, even though the U.S. military remains in charge of security.

Lt. Col. Mohammed Faiq Raoof, commander of the 303rd Battalion of the Iraqi national guard, is increasing the number of patrols his men conduct.

"I want to show people that we are in power now," he told his U.S. commander during their weekly lunch, the first since Monday's transfer of power.

Col. Michael Formica, commander of the 1st Cavalry Division's 2nd Brigade, nodded in agreement. "We want you to do that," he said.

Formica also approved Raoof's request to set up checkpoints and conduct patrols unaccompanied by U.S. soldiers. Then he went a step further and gave Raoof sole responsibility for patrolling one Baghdad neighborhood.

Raoof said Iraqi civilians seem to be taking pride in their security forces.

"Today, while on patrol, I saw people on the street clapping for them and smiling," he said. "The people are happy to see the Iraqi national guard."

Iraqification makes all things possible.

Posted by Orrin Judd at July 2, 2004 2:48 PM