Patience wears thin at a checkpoint

Attacks have declined since an offensive against Shiite militias launched in late March by Prime Minister Nouri Maliki sparked fierce fighting in the area. But the situation on Route Pluto, as the military calls the multi-lane street where Vigeant set up traffic cones, remains extremely dangerous. In the early days of the offensive, Vigeant said, insurgents dumped piles of trash and concrete slabs along the street to conceal bombs. The closer you got to Sadr City, he said, the worse were the piles.

Vigeant's platoon sergeant was injured in a bomb blast in late March.

"Sometimes I wonder if the people really appreciate what we're trying to do," Vigeant said as traffic zoomed by. "I risk my life every day on the street. My guys risk their lives every day."

As he spoke, Vigeant frequently reminded his men to keep moving to reduce their chances of being hit by sniper fire.

Though they weren't operating in Sadr City, their mission was a direct result of the fighting in the neighborhood. Earlier in the day, Iraqi police had notified U.S. forces that they planned to stake out the funeral of a mid-level militia fighter and could use backup. The U.S. responded with the roadblock on Route Pluto.

The results were at times comic, and at times suspenseful.

Vigeant put two sets of cones about 100 feet apart and then watched in frustration from his Humvee as traffic began driving through them at regular speed.

He got out of the Humvee and walked about 25 feet to an Iraqi police patrol with an interpreter, who explained the cones' purpose and asked for help getting the traffic to go around them, not through them.

Back in the relative security of the Humvee, Vigeant watched as the police officers began stopping each vehicle, creating an instant traffic jam. He got back out, knowing the tie-up would anger motorists and create tensions.

"I want people to get through. I just don't want them to speed. Like him," Vigeant told the Iraqi police as a minivan whizzed between the cones.

Returning to the Humvee, Vigeant had a telephone handset against each ear. One kept him in touch with battalion headquarters, the other with troops at the second set of cones. Two soldiers in full battle gear stood in the street motioning for drivers who matched the suspects' descriptions to pull over.