DISPATCHES FROM IRAQ
Security tight as Kurds mark 1988 attack
By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer
HALABJA, Iraq — Security was tight for the anniversary Tuesday of Saddam Hussein's 1988 use of chemical weapons in this border city, an attack that killed 5,000 Kurds and injured 10,000 more.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
But 1st Lt. John Song wanted to be sure.
1st Lt. John Song, of Mililani and the 2-11 Field Artillery, visits a display at the Halabja Monument commemorating an Iraqi chemical attack on the Kurdish town of Halabja.
Terrorism by groups such as Ansar al-Islam — linked to bombings such as the Feb. 1 suicide attacks on Kurdish party offices in Irbil that killed 109 people — is something U.S. forces and Kurds want to prevent here.
The Schofield Barracks officer and six other 2nd Battalion, 11th Field Artillery soldiers travel every four days to the mountainous border region with Iran from Sulaymaniyah, primarily to work with the new Iraqi Border Patrol.
All large gatherings become a security concern, and Ansar al-Islam, an extremist group with ties to al-Qaida and followers in northeast Iraq and Iran, is the biggest perceived threat.
Shortly after the start of last year's invasion of Iraq, Kurds say coalition cruise missiles slammed into Ansar strongholds in the region, and 350 members were killed by Kurdish fighters at a remote mountain outpost.
Drinking hot "chi" tea served in tall shot glasses in a room warmed by a kerosene heater, Song, 23, discussed with border patrol Lt. Col. Hawraman Muhammed Hussain measures taken for the remembrance, which carried over yesterday.
For Kurds in northern Iraq, who have had some autonomy since 1991, the earlier chemical attack is a reminder of Saddam's brutality.
"It's the one historical event they will never forget about," said interpreter Delan Alani, 24, a Kurd who lived in Colorado from 1996 until he returned to Iraq last year.
There is a memorial in Halabja with photos of women, children and families felled in the streets by the chemical clouds, and a soaring atrium topped by a Kurdistan flag.
Song, a 1998 graduate of Mililani High School, toured the memorial Monday and met with the director.
"Tell him my condolences go out to the families (who had losses) in 1988," Song said.
At the border patrol office, Azad Omar Hassan, 42, said he had lost his parents and sister to the chemical attacks that were intended to put down Kurdish rebellion. Survivors described the smell of apples and people bleeding from their eyes and ears.
"Since Saddam Hussein is captured, he feels like his parents and sister are alive because of the freedom now in the Kirkuk region," said Alani, interpreting for Hassan.
Driving through the crowded city streets, adults and children waved and smiled at the Americans, who are welcomed by the Kurds.
"Hello, mister! Thank you very much," said a boy of about 8 as the two Humvees passed.
A black banner strung across the street read in English: "Welcome to martyred Halabja in the anniversary of the chemical bombardment."
The top U.S. administrator in Iraq, L. Paul Bremer, visited the memorial Tuesday and said: "For those in my country and elsewhere who ... still wonder if the war was worth fighting, I say, come to Halabja. Look in the faces of the survivors here today. See how a peaceful village was turned into a hell overnight by evil."
Bremer said the coalition would establish a $1 million fund to be spent in Halabja.
Jalal Talabani, leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the main Kurdish party in northeastern Iraq, said the chemical attack was proof of the use of "mass destruction arms by the Iraqi dictator."
"I call all those who are not believing in it, please come to Halabja to see how mass destruction arms (were) used," he said. "We are now free ... thanks to the coalition forces."
The Schofield soldiers stopped at the memorial again yesterday, where about 500 people were still gathered.
Kurdistan Regional Government security police were stationed about every 50 feet on both sides of the road leading into the city.
"To me, it tells me these guys, when they go out and say they are going to secure these areas, there's actual people out there doing it, and they're doing it in force," Song said. "Their tolerance for terrorism is zero — just like the United States. They see what it can lead to if there's a break (in security)."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
