The Insurgent And the Soldier
Both view themselves as men of honor; both are fathers. And they are trying to wipe each other out in Fallujah, Iraq's red-hot core

Under the Saddam Hussein regime, "Ahmed" was an insider, a commando who served in the feared Fedayeen Saddam militia. Now he's a guerrilla battling the American occupiers who rule his homeland. Ahmed, 40, looks more like a simple farmer than a killer: deeply etched lines radiate from the corners of his eyes, and his face is anchored by a stubbly salt-and-pepper beard. But his intentions are lethal. "If you come like a friend, we will say, ‘Welcome,' and help you," he says. "But if you come like the Americans did to control us, then we will kill you."

American Staff Sergeant Richard Bear is in Iraq to stop men like Ahmed. It was a desire to do something significant with his life and gain notice that put him on the path that would eventually lead him to Fallujah. "Right after the first Gulf War," he recalls, "I was driving back from my job at Wal-Mart when I saw a busful of reservists returning home. People were clapping and cheering and honking their horns. These guys were heroes. I thought to myself, That's what I want–recognition, a sense of accomplishment." And so he enlisted. Bear arrived in Iraq two months ago with Charlie Company of the 1-505 Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division.

The two men–an Iraqi insurgent and an American soldier–have more in common than one might expect. Both are fathers who care deeply about their children and their country. Both see their jobs as their duty. Both pray each time they head out on a new mission. "They have their way of fighting, and we have our way of fighting," says Ahmed, who fingers amber-colored prayer beads as he talks. "Everyone wants to defend his country and his honor." Says Bear: "I want my wife and family to be proud of me because what I am doing is protecting them."

On a recent night, Ahmed met seven other men at a safe house in Fallujah. Sometime after midnight he retired to a bedroom in the safe house and prayed for a few minutes. Then he and the others stole out into the night. Five moved on foot; three rode small motorcycles. Near 1 a.m. they attacked from two directions, opening up with Kalashnikovs and firing two rocket-propelled grenades.

The soldiers of the 1-505 are on the alert for people like Ahmed at all times. Bear and his colleagues patrol the streets around Fallujah and try to provide security for convoys whenever soldiers travel to another base. In September, Bear was in the last humvee of one such convoy crossing a bridge over the Euphrates when a roadside bomb blew up in front of him. The convoy stopped and within seconds was taking light arms fire from three directions. Despite the risks, Bear doesn't second-guess his mission. "Why do I think that I'm here? The answer is, to help the Iraqi people," says Bear. "We don't want to turn this into a little America. We just want to help people." Bear says he wants to "make sure Iraqi kids have some of the opportunities my kids have."

Ahmed sees things differently. The Americans' purpose, he believes, is to subjugate Iraq. "We do not hate the American people. We hate their government," he says. "So we ask, ‘Why send your sons to us so that we can kill them?' During the struggle I may live or I may die. But even if I do die, there are plenty of others who will follow me, and they will keep fighting until the last American has left Iraq." The months ahead will decide whose vision will prevail.

—from TIME, November 17, 2003

Questions

1. What do Ahmed and Bear have in common?

2. How do Ahmed and Bear each explain the Americans' purpose in Iraq?