An Army carry team carries a transfer case containing the remains of Army Spc. James David Wertish Saturday, July 18, 2009 at Dover Air Force Base, Del. According to the Department of Defense, Wertish, 20, of Olivia, Minn. died July 16 in Basra, Iraq. (AP Photo/Steve Ruark)U.S. Troops in Iraq Find Little Leeway -- Washington Post
Handling of Threatened Mortar Raid Exemplifies Newly Curtailed Powers
BAGHDAD, July 19 -- The tip was as alarming as it was unusual. A Sunni insurgent cell was planning a mortar attack on a large U.S. base adjacent to Baghdad's airport.
A credible informant told U.S. intelligence officials Tuesday morning that several mortars launching from nearby Amiriyah, a quiet neighborhood that had not been a staging ground for rocket or mortar attacks since 2007, would rain down shells on the base that night.
Over the next few days, Capt. Dustin Navarro and his Iraqi army counterpart wrangled over the appropriate response. They met, argued, sparred and compromised. In the end, two things became evident: First, Iraqi and American commanders have markedly different notions of what U.S. troops in Baghdad are entitled to do to protect themselves under a security agreement that went into effect July 1 and that sharply limits U.S. activity in Iraqi cities.
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