Now that the fighting in Fallujah has died down,
US marines have launched a battle for the hearts and minds of Iraqis
in and around this city that has come to symbolize the anti-coalition
insurgency.
While they stay away from the Jolan neighborhood
where the fiercest fighting took place over the past weeks, marines
are meeting with residents and community leaders to offer compensation
for battle damage and to seek goodwill.
They already have settled dozens of smaller claims
-- for cows killed in the crossfire, buildings damaged by gunfire or
power lines downed in firefights.
...
The troops also handed out military rations, packed in cartons stating
the contents were "Halal", or permissible under Islamic law.
"By us being out here, we have caused some discomfort,
we would like to give you food and water," said Captain Jeff Stevenson,
who commands the marine unit.
But one group of men turned down the offer of food. "We
don't need it," said Mohammed Naif, whose comparatively new SUV suggested
he was a man of some wealth.
The Iraqis did, however, ask that the marines open
the nearby road to Jolan, one of the positions still sealed off by
the US troops who besieged Fallujah for almost one month.
...
It was not clear when they would leave their last toehold in the city,
but they have made it clear they intend to return eventually to help
in reconstruction, with 77 million dollars promised for the flashpoint
city.
Coughlin is confident the US-led coalition eventually
will win the battle for Fallujah.
"The hearts and minds campaign can be won, depending
on how we deal with people in the community," he said as a convoy of
military vehicles raced across a bone-dry field, raising a storm of
dust over the small village.
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