By Pierre Celerier - RAMADI, Iraq
The US battalion that has set itself up in the western Iraqi insurgent bastion of Ramadi lives in total isolation thanks to the city's insecurity and the local population's refusal to cooperate.
The 1st Battalion, 503rd Regiment is "in the process of building a relationship with the local population", said Captain William Snook, whose responsibilities include media relations.
But the process is taking some time if you think that the army has been in this mainly Sunni Muslim city, a hundred kilometres (60 miles) west of Baghdad, for more than a year.
Since he arrived a week ago, Snook's only contact with city authorities has been with the man in charge of the technical college that serves as the battalion's headquarters.
Yet this city of 400,000 is not lacking in officials, including a mayor who is also governor since his predecessor, Mohammed Awad, fell ill and was reportedly hospitalised in Baghdad.
"Since November's assault on Fallujah no local leader has stood up as a go-between," between US forces and the local population, said Lieutenant Colonel Justin Gubler, who commands the battalion and half the city.
The reason is simple: "They are scared. Their fear is that they will help, then we will leave, and then the insurgents will kill them," said Gubler.
Lacking partners of any sort, American soldiers try to learn about the influence of tribal and religious authorities in the city as they conduct hundreds of house searches.
In this hostile environment, the battalion lives in a kind of fortified bubble, the daily target of somewhat inaccurate mortar fire and victim of random harassment as soon as they leave their compound.
"Everything we use... is brought from the outside, and we burn all our trash," said Snook. Even shower water is brought in, and drinking water comes all the way from Saudi Arabia. Electricity comes from generators.
As for using local manpower to look after the base, that seems to be out of the question.
"All I know of is the interpreters," Snook said of locals employed by the US army.
In any case, it seems unlikely that local businesses will run the risk of being accused of collaborating with the occupying forces.
Even the interpreters, who come from all over the country, wear balaclavas to hide their faces as soon as they have anything to do with the local population.
As for Ramadi's police force, they chose to resign en masse rather than have to enforce martial law decreed by interim Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi ahead of the US-led offensive in Fallujah.
"They're also scared," said Gubler.