U.S. & World

HALABASA, Iraq (AP) ― U.S. Marines roll through this Euphrates River town handing out chocolates, backpacks, coloring books and sometimes even AK-47s, hoping to glean goodwill and tips from residents.
Efforts to befriend Iraqis are far from new, but they have become even more important, U.S. military leaders say, as troops battle well-armed and well-financed insurgents who roam much of Anbar province.

Many in Washington, America's allies and much of the U.S. public may feel that tactics like these haven't achieved much, but the Marines here are far more optimistic about their work and say they have brought a measure of peace to this corner of Iraq.

"They're happy to see us when we come here," said Lt. Col. Todd S. Desgrosseilliers, who greeted residents on a recent patrol with a stogie between his teeth and two grenades strapped to his chest. "They aren't insurgents, they're just people."

In Baghdad, American forces are caught in a sectarian bloodbath that pits majority Shiite Arabs against minority Sunnis. But in Anbar, west of the capital, Sunnis are the dominant sect and the Marines face hit-and-run attacks, snipers and roadside bombs.

In this kind of guerrilla war, according to a draft Pentagon manual on counterinsurgency posted on the Internet, soldiers and Marines must be "ready each day to be greeted with a handshake or a hand grenade ... to be nation builders as well as warriors."

The manual sums up the strategy with three words: "Patience, Presence and Courage."

Winning hearts and minds can be dangerous. In 2005, a suicide car bomb exploded next to U.S. troops handing out candy and toys, killing 18 children and teenagers in Baghdad.

But the support of residents here is crucial, Marines say, because sympathetic civilians could point U.S. forces to terrorist cells. With residents' help, the Marines could also weaken insurgent groups.

Desgrosseilliers commands the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines, which is charged with taming a stretch of desert between two insurgent strongholds, the city of Fallujah to the east and Anbar's provincial capital of Ramadi to the west.

Anbar, which extends west to the borders of Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, is overwhelmingly Sunni. So are most insurgents, who took up arms after the fall of Saddam Hussein cost the minority their most-favored status inside Iraq's government.

Here in Halabsa, just south of Fallujah, there is still no police force nearly four years after Saddam's ouster. Some store owners are so afraid of being robbed that Desgrosseilliers has given them automatic rifles to keep under their counters.

He also has given weapons to tribal leaders for protection.

"For extra protection in your home," he said after giving an automatic rifle to Mohammed, a 64-year-old sheik. "But we will be outside protecting you, too."

Mohammed asked that his full name not be published for fear he could be targeted by insurgents.

As recently as June, the highway in Halabsa was choked with roadside bombs and even Iraqis feared it, Desgrosseilliers said.

The Americans closed the road for months, patrolling with tanks and armored Humvees to make it harder to plant explosives, and erecting roadside outposts named for NFL football teams to provide extra protection.
They also offered cash compensation for lost wages to those left jobless by the road closure. And they talked with residents every day.

"If you gain their trust, people will tell you who the outsiders are, or where they might have planted an explosive," said Jeffrey D. Brown, commander of an outpost near Halabsa. "This kind of support from the population did not occur in Vietnam," he said.

"But it is occurring here because the people see us every day on foot, talking with them, protecting them."

The Marines reopened the highway more than a month ago and turned the lookout posts over to the Iraqi army.

"They're a lot better at patrolling this area then we are," said Desgrosseilliers, who like nearly all Marines here can only communicate with residents through an interpreter.

"They see things we miss."

Roadside fruit stands, markets and repair shops that shut down with the highway have begun reopening. Marines provided security for construction of a water pump, allowing for irrigation and the replanting of wheat, fruits and vegetables—as well as rows of date palm trees.

"These checkpoints have made things better," said Mohammad Abbas Hasham, 45, who owns five fruit and meat stalls outside Halabsa.

Husain Ali Hussain was appointed mayor of the nearby city of Khalidiyah and surrounding areas in September. He said al-Qaida fighters pour into Anbar from Syria.

"Terrorism persists, it's not controlled here," he said. "But the situation is better than before. We are telling everyone, every day that they need to go back to their jobs."

For many, that's not easy. Electricity is only available a few hours a day and the war has crippled industry and commerce. Many schools are falling part.

Hussain said first the war, then the insurgency had caused "the life wheels of our communities to stop completely."

"Ours is a simple region. People just live on their own. They have no political agenda or political party that they believe in," he said. "After all of this, you see the people trying to live their lives as well as they can. But it is very difficult."

The Marines agree work remains to be done, but they claim a measure of success.

"This area right here should be a success story," Brown said.

"With others there are still problems."

(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)