On NRO, W. Thomas Smith Jr. reports on our troops on the ground there in A Winning Situation. Excerpt:
"We will win the hearts and minds of Fallujah by ridding the city of insurgents," he says. "We're doing that by patrolling the streets and killing the enemy."It's a simple Marine maxim: Locate, close with, and destroy the enemy. But Marines in Iraq are doing much more.
On April 6 — the same day 11 Marines and one Navy medical corpsman were killed in Ramadi — a group of artillerymen with 3rd Battalion, 11th Marines played soccer with Iraqis in the town of Nukhayb. Few if any newspapers reported the game. It didn't bleed, so it didn't lead. But it's all part of building a new Iraq.
"It's fun having the Americans here, because it's all about building friendships," said Ali Tayish, 19, a local resident. "We're all brothers. We'd play soccer with them everyday if we could."
In other regions of the country, Marines and soldiers are delivering much needed food and medical supplies to openly grateful Iraqis. That's not all: School supplies, carpentry tools, sporting goods, even Frisbees — two tons of them — from the Los Angeles-based "Spirit of America" organization are finding their way into Iraqi hands. The Frisbees are emblazoned with the word "friendship" in both English and Arabic.
Also on NRO, Robert Alt reports that Iraqis like us. Excerpt:
But perhaps the biggest influx of Western culture is in the area of fashion. Young women are increasingly abandoning traditional Iraqi garb in favor of more form-fitting clothes. And while the middle-aged woman across from the palace in Adhamiya may scream "Whores!" as the girls pass by in their more revealing Western garb, she does so only as a break from indulging in her own Western pursuit: hocking Pepsi on the street corner. Men are also quickly snatching up clothes emblazoned with English words, only to ask passing Americans to tell them what their clothes say. (Imagine their chagrin when they learn that their shirts' logo is not really English, but rather a Greek word for victory.)There is also a particular fascination not only with things American, but with Americans themselves. If you tell someone from Baghdad that you are from America, you are likely to be met with excitement and the common exclamation: "I love America." They will want to know where you are from in America, and what you think of Iraq. Without prompting, they will tell you what their lives were like under Saddam, and how they have changed. And their children are likely to be drawn to the American soldiers — waving, smiling, and running to meet them. For those whose impression of Iraqi sentiment has been shaped by the nightly news, the Iraqi response to Americans may be the biggest surprise to come from a trip to Baghdad.
Finally, on Iraq the Model, it's Mohammed's birthday today, but the gift is this post from him:
I think I’ll have to skip celebrating my birthday this year, but that will not make me less determined than before, and I know that even if other countries pull out of Iraq, we will always have the strongest and greatest nation on our side, the wonderful people of the USA, together with the UK, Italy, Japan and the rest of the coalition forces. We owe you a lot and I pray, and I’m sure, that one day we will be able to return some of your favors and I’m talking about the people not the politicians although I don’t deny those the credit they deserve for doing their job as good as they can. When that day finally comes, you will know for sure that the great efforts and sacrifices you’ve made were not in vain.
I think you'll want to read the whole thing.
Posted by oscarjr at April 21, 2004 09:54 PM | TrackBack