Small communities in Iraq embrace US troops

Washington Post/Houston Chronicle:

The smell of baking bread wafted over the dusty central square, and children clamored to get closer to the U.S. troops and their hulking armored vehicles.

Samir Hassan, a 53-year-old shopkeeper, said he was happy with the U.S. troops who have maintained peace around his home. But the Iraqi police who have set up a checkpoint at the entrance to Mustafar have made the residents uneasy, he said, as have the Shiite militiamen who operate just miles away.

"We feel safe here," Hassan said, waving his arm at the throngs of people in the streets on a recent day. "But now we can't go to Baghdad. We need to have security in Iraq. The government has no control, and I don't trust the Iraqi forces."

It is in small villages like these that U.S. soldiers say they are making their biggest strides but also face their biggest challenges. Commanders in Iraq say they can win any battle against armed insurgents and conduct any military operation successfully, but persuading Iraqis to believe in Iraq could end up being the most difficult battle in this war.

There are places in Iraq where U.S. troops are greeted with suspicion. And there are others where they confront grave danger. Some 101 American troops have been killed in hostile action across Iraq this month.

But in some of the small towns that ring the southern edge of Baghdad, the situation is different. For many residents, the daily dose of roadside bombs and gunshots that plague the capital is glimpsed only on television. Here, U.S. soldiers work to provide more electricity, to ensure water supplies are clean and to fix roads. The locals appear to appreciate it, but they also appear to genuinely fear what could happen if U.S. forces leave.

...

"We're happier now," said Othman Ibrahim, 23, a fireplug of a farmer with coarse hands and soft eyes. "We like the U.S. soldiers because they came in and made things better. But we don't trust the Iraqi army."

Capt. Adam Sawyer, who commands the regiment's C Troop and spends much of his time working to improve services in the region, said it could be years before large-scale improvements are made.

"I can't fix electricity overnight, but we can come in and do the little things, and those little things do matter," he said, shortly after surveying a vacant building he hopes to turn into a medical clinic. "You will gain more from these things than you can possibly gain from using your weapon. It's all about taking baby steps."

Right now it is all about giving them the time to complete the job. Democrats appear to be on the side of the enemy when it comes to getting the US troops out of Iraq. They are ready to desert Othman Ibrahim and other Iraqis who need the US effort.

This story by Josh White of the Washington Post is a rarity for US media. It actually shows what is going on outside of Baghdad and shows some of the success the US is having. More such stories would go a long way toward buying time for the Iraqis to overcome those who want to take them back to the dark ages.