Using what are sure to be tactics that engender love and flowers, the 1600 Crew have been instructing soldiers in Iraq to behave as much like fascist footsoldiers as possible. They have been out looking for more of those pesky Iraqi "Wolverines" (think "Red Dawn") again.

Using sledgehammers, crowbars, explosives and armored vehicles, U.S. forces smashed down the gates of homes and the doors of workshops and junkyards Wednesday to attack the Iraqi resistance that has persisted despite the capture of Saddam Hussein.

Loud blasts mixed with the sound of women and children screaming inside the houses. An explosion at the gate of one compound shattered windows, cutting a 1-year-old baby with glass. U.S. medics treated the injury while other soldiers handcuffed four men, who were later released.

The raid, launched before dawn and lasting until midmorning, targeted the city of Samarra, north of Baghdad. U.S. officials say some 1,500 fighters operate in Samarra, making it one of the persistent hotspots in the so-called Sunni Triangle.

''Samarra has been a little bit of a thorn in our side,'' said Col. Nate Sassaman. ''It hasn't come along as quickly as other cities in the rebuilding of Iraq. This operation is designed to bring them up to speed.''

Jeebus, it's like the ultimate Fractured Fairy Tale...every freakin' day.