KIRKUK, Iraq

The soldiers have been waiting for what seems like hours when they at last get the order to move into Shaheed, a village just outside Kirkuk.

Iraqi units and Americans from Company B, 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment were supposed to roll up in vehicles to close the trap from the other side of the village. But, they got stuck behind a broken-down engineering vehicle.

Those already on the ground start to worry that their targets are going to flee when men on the roof of the target start disappearing inside.

The soldiers could play it safe and wait, but they want to nab some insurgents this Tuesday morning. So without hesitation, they charge across open ground toward the home — toward men just like those who killed their friend not so long ago.

It’s been just over three weeks since their fellow soldier died. A suicide bomber drove a vehicle into their small patrol base just outside Kirkuk, killing one and wounding 18 others. That’s 19 good reasons to kick in the door of this target home; 19 good reasons to round up all the men inside; 19 good reasons to manhandle them onto their bellies and slip a pair of flexicuffs around their wrists.

The mission shows how hatred for an enemy and respect for the rules of war can exist alongside each other.

The soldiers are looking for two people. Both are thought to be leaders of a local terrorist cell. One of the men on the ground identifies himself as one of the targets.

These particular soldiers happened to be away from the base when the attack occurred. But they helped transport the wounded afterward and knew those who were hurt. They are ecstatic about their catch.

"It’s one less guy who can kill another one of my friends," said Pfc. Jacob Jacques.

The soldiers’ feelings for their quarry can be seen in the names they call the man. The men rarely use clinical words like detainee, insurgent or even terrorist. They don’t use racial slurs. The closest to that is "Hajji," but the soldiers use that for all Iraqis — good or bad. No, their enemies are any number of gutter smears. The soldiers toss around the insults casually, with only the barest hint of venom.

The soldiers stand the blindfolded suspect up and take him to the front of the home for "tactical questioning," a euphemism for on-scene interrogation. Curses and shouting can be heard from around the side of the home. Yet the interrogation is as remarkable for what doesn’t happen. No one smacks the man. No one shoves a pistol in his face. To be sure, it’s not pleasant. But it’s nothing a drug dealer facing a profane cop in the U.S. wouldn’t understand.

The soldiers enforce their own personal code as well. One talks excitedly about how he forced a resisting man to the ground "L.A. police-style." His fellow soldiers put him in his place quickly, though.

"Good for you," a buddy answers sarcastically. "You took down an 80-pound Hajji."

When the Americans at last link up with the Iraqi soldiers, they see that the jundees have also been successful. They’ve captured the other man the Americans were looking for.

The Iraqi soldiers proudly drag him to the Americans. Iraqis on either side slap his face a couple times en route. He’s bleeding from where an earlier slap popped a boil. One Iraqi forces the man into an uncomfortable squat with his cuffed hands high in the air behind him. Another pulls a sweatshirt, which helpfully reads "fighter," over the suspect’s face. Both Iraqis smile like fishermen displaying a particularly enviable catch.

The Iraqi soldiers, too, have reason to be mad. Roadside bombs killed and seriously wounded several of their buddies not so long ago. One of the Iraqis tells the soldiers through an interpreter how shrapnel tore into the throat of a close friend.

"I miss him a lot," he concludes.

The Americans can undoubtedly understand their feelings. Yet soldier after soldier talks about the need for restraint even as their leaders are grilling those who want to kill them.

These are the same soldiers who were hard at work cleaning up the rubble just hours after the attack on the patrol base. They are the soldiers who resumed patrolling to catch those responsible. And they are the soldiers who’ve already rebuilt the base that the bomb destroyed, a home that will soon be renamed in honor of their fallen friend.

"They haven’t needed to be held back or prodded forward," says Sgt. 1st Class Don Spock, the platoon leader. "It was business as usual, and I think that alone sends a message."

So it’s no surprise when the U.S. platoon leader walks up just moments after the Iraqis arrive, stands the suspect up and tells his captors to pull the sweatshirt off his face. He questions the man like the other suspect, and then the soldiers haul him away to a waiting vehicle.

"Yeah, you want to get revenge for it, but the guys in the platoon, the guys in the company, are mature about it," says Staff Sgt. Spencer Wright.

The soldiers have one more matter to take care of before they leave: The other people handcuffed inside the home.

These men probably knew what the insurgents living with them were up to. Perhaps they’re just as guilty. The soldiers undoubtedly have mixed feelings on the issue. But that’s unimportant.

They stand each man up, remove the flexicuffs and drive away.

Their work is done.

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