The lieutenant colonel's sentiment was echoed Wednesday by the chief U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner.
"Overall, the majority of the Iraqi security forces performed their mission," Bergner said. "Some were not up to the task, and the government of Iraq is taking the necessary action in those cases."
Problems seemed more pronounced with the national police.
"Police work where they live and are inherently influenced by the politics of their community," said a Western security official, who estimated police desertions at more than 50% in Mahdi Army strongholds such as Baghdad's Sadr City and parts of Basra.
In Basra, Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Kareem Khalaf said 407 Iraqi police officers had been fired for allegedly working with militias during the fighting.
The Iraqi government has not yet released desertion figures, but Hussein said five soldiers went AWOL in his area. As his situation showed, one challenge facing Iraqi forces if Shiite-on-Shiite fighting erupts again could be getting Iraqi soldiers to shoot at their brethren.
Like many soldiers in this area, Hussein has friends and relatives in Shula who faced repercussions if the military confronted the militias there.
"People were calling me on my cellphone, threatening to kill my kids," said Hussein, a husky man with a gray-flecked mustache and a red beret perched on his head. He commands the 4th Battalion of the 22nd Brigade in the Iraqi army's 6th Division.
Hussein said he sent his family to another neighborhood as warnings and messages began pouring in to his forces from people they knew in Shula. They said, "Be cautious, be careful, because JAM and special groups are going to do something," said Hussein, using terms for the Mahdi Army militia and splinter groups.
Petit said he sympathized with people in Hussein's predicament.
"I think the hardest part of this is the family of the guy in the Iraqi army unit lives there, and his friends live there," he said, referring to the areas from which their enemies flowed.
As the warnings came in to Hussein, Iraqi forces were moved into position in vulnerable areas: to the roof of a vacant mosque at the entrance to Shula, where the brick dome and sandbags provided cover; to the wide avenue leading through Hurriya, a nearby militia stronghold; and to bunkers in Ghazaliya.
