U.S. Marines Work To Befriend Iraqis

[sabra]

http://wcbstv.com/topstories/topstories_story_345135325.html

U.S. Marines Work To Befriend Iraqis

(AP) HALABASA, Iraq 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.”

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“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.