The Iraqi sergeant has dodged bullets from the al-Mahdi Army and traded fire with Sunni insurgents.
Yet in his years with the Iraqi Army he has learnt one simple lesson: once the US military pulls back in Iraq, he should leave the country if he wants to survive. “As soon as it happens, I will quit my job and live outside Iraq,” the sergeant told The Times.
“We need to give the Americans back all the authority over the Iraqi Army like before.”