Chrenkoff

"On a Saturday afternoon in Iraq, between Baghdad and Camp Anaconda, the countryside looks a little like Wisconsin. There are farmers tilling fields and women walking on roads. Freight trains and major highways.

"This wasn't exactly what I expected when I left for the war-ravaged country the first week of September. And initially, it made me feel lousy.

"Here in Chicago I tend to cover breaking crime stories where the action is intense -- grieving victims, burned-out buildings, angry neighbors.

"I expected this type of human drama in Iraq, and apparently others did, too. When I came back after three weeks, all everybody wanted to know was how scared I was.

"Iraq was hot and smelly. It was dirty and dusty. Mortars sometimes boomed in the distance.

"But I can't describe it as scary. I didn't see the hard-core stuff, and a lot of soldiers who live and work there don't, either.

"That's not to say the kidnappings, bombings and airstrikes from U.S. planes aren't wreaking havoc on both Iraqis and American troops.

"It's just there's another side -- a side where the ebb and flow of the day-to-day is so normal, it's almost jarring."

"In a recent poll 80.5% of Iraqis showed that they want elections to be held at time without any delay. The poll that was conducted by Al Sabah center for public opinion studies showed also that 15% were with delaying the elections while 4% did not have any opinion. The poll took the opinions of 850 citizens of Baghdad from different ethnic, social and religious groups who were selected according to the simple random sample method. 40% of those were women."

"1-A list of members qualified for voting that contains no less than 500 individual.
2-An internal regulations document that lists the rules that governs the party's activities.
3-Should have no connection with a militia or an active armed group.
4-Should not receive funds from any militia or active armed group.
5-The political entity should not provoke, take part or encourage terrorist or any criminal activities and violence.
6-The name of the party should not incite hatred or violence and the logo of the party should not contain any religious or military symbols."

"We believe that we represent an important segment of the Iraqi people that was never organized before under any category as a result of the oppression of the past regime. Now this segment has come to see the necessity to contribute to the building of a new Iraq in a way that is entirely different from the old ways."

"Within the relatively safe confines of Baghdad's university campuses, a picture emerges of what democracy could look like throughout the country if worries about security hadn't trumped everything else.

"It's not pretty. Indeed, it's messy, uneven and at times angry. Students and professors alike are still learning what democracy is and debating how to execute it on campuses - or whether universities are ready for such debates at all.

"Like American universities, Iraqi campuses provide a haven for open political thought. The discussions are much more progressive than they are off the grounds, in large part because campuses are among the few places that aren't overburdened by security problems."

"I worked to promote cooperation and understanding among Iraq's diverse religious and ethnic groups. Goals of a conflict-management conference included strengthening local capacity to peacefully manage the contentious issues facing society and teaching the fundamental skills facilitators need to conduct intergroup dialogues. The trainees were predominantly from Ramadi, Baghdad, Tikrit, Balad, Mosul, and Kirkuk; 17 of the 41 were women, who livened discussions by forcing the more traditional-minded men to listen to progressive perspectives...

"The trainees' sophistication, candor, and enthusiasm were impressive. In similar discussions one year ago, such nuanced understanding of the issues was absent. Participants had informed opinions on the political situation and debated the structure of planned elections. Although the trainees complained about mistakes made by the Coalition Provisional Authority and the dangerous security situation, they were generally forward-looking and wanting to contribute to the new Iraq. This is a marked change from the victim mentality I encountered immediately after the war.

"Most striking was their willingness to discuss deeply personal experiences. During one session, a participant admitted to carrying out a revenge killing (a tribal tradition still prevalent in Iraq). Another talked of regular beatings during his 15 years in an Iranian jail after he was captured in the Iran-Iraq War. A former political prisoner, accused of being too religious and a threat to the Iraqi regime, described having his toenails pulled out and nose broken repeatedly. All had harrowing tales, yet instead of retreating from public life, these people are choosing to become activists, risking their lives to work for a peaceful Iraq."

"Athraa Hasoon, a biology professor... sees improvements at the university where she teaches. 'The lab we have is very, very small and cheap," she said. That is changing. The university is acquiring access to the Internet, microscopes and satellites, she said'...

"[Hayder] Abdulkarin runs a private clinic in Samawa, in the south of Iraq. He sees 100 patients every day. If that many patients can come to see him, it is a sign of stability in Iraq, he said. 'Each day 30 to 40 to 50 patients asked me about medical advice or management, so if it is not safe, how can all those people come and ask,' he said. 'There is bombs here and there, but this is not in all of Iraq. This is in small areas of Iraq, not all the time and all the day, not all the month, not all the week,' he said. Insurgents come from outside of Iraq, he said. 'The majority of Iraqis, they want peace. And they want someone to help them. They think there is a very strong partner, a very good partner willing to support them, willing to help them,' he said of the United States...

"During Saddam Hussein's rule, 65 to 75 percent of medical equipment supplies were malfunctioning, [Abdulkarin] said. He was restricted from traveling outside of Iraq and is a general practitioner now because he was not permitted to pursue further education, he said. When Saddam ruled, he saw his relatives executed under Saddam Hussein's regime in 2001 at Abu Ghraib Prison and then had to buy the right to take back their bodies, he said."

"Over the past two weeks, a high-level delegation from the University of Baghdad and the Iraqi National Academy of Sciences visited Australia at the invitation of the Australian Iraqi Forum. The delegation was headed by dissident scientist Hussain Al-Shahristani, who spent 11 years in solitary confinement for refusing to join Saddam Hussein's nuclear weapons program. He is now president of the Iraqi National Academy of Sciences. The delegation also included University of Baghdad president Mosa Al-Mosawe and its engineering faculty dean Ali Al-Kiliddar.

"The story they conveyed to us, and to the senior university managements and government officials they visited, carried signs of hope and optimism in the new Iraq. Iraqi universities are functioning regularly despite of all the difficulties they face. The delegation demonstrated how determined they are to revive higher education and to elevate research standards at their institutions. Their commitment was remarkable.

"The group visited seven universities and signed two memoranda of understanding with Monash University and another with the University of Technology, Sydney. A draft MOU with the Australian National University is under review."

"In September, work progressed on the installation of equipment to provide Internet access at a major university in northern Iraq. This university had no network to connect the campus buildings, and only 70 of the institution’s 1,000 computers had access to the Internet. The new computer network will improve the communication services inside the campus and with other Iraqi universities and institutions.

"Also under the [Higher Education and Development] HEAD program, three small grants have been approved for faculty of university medical and engineering colleges to engage in two medical studies on appendicitis and carpal tunnel syndrome.

"Additionally, the HEAD program supported the participation of two medical college faculty members in an international medical association conference in Scotland in September.

"Finally, under the HEAD partnership with the State University of New York at Stony Brook, more than 1,500 archaeology books have been catalogued and are being prepared for shipment to two major Iraqi universities."

"Iraq's bloody chaos has traumatized many Iraqis, but what troubles one of its top psychiatrists most is the angry young men eager to join the anti-U.S. insurgency.

" 'More of my patients ask my opinion about the guerrillas. They are confused and anxious. Some lean toward the insurgents,' doctor Alharith al-Asady told Reuters. 'Personally I don't see it as a resistance. I call it violence. But the patients trust me so I try and talk them out of it. I encourage them to seek an education,' says Asady, who sees himself as a psychological warrior against violence...

"Contemplating Iraq's future in his spacious office at Baghdad University, he believes it all depends on whether professionals like himself can educate Iraqis after years of dictatorship, invasion and occupation and the daily carnage.

" 'How can Iraqis understand what a human right is when they never had one?' he asks. 'They don't know what the rules are now, what the law is. Everyone does what they want. We can only stabilize the country when Iraqis begin to learn about a new way of life'."

"In the living room of a modest downtown home, a 6-foot-tall drag queen is trying to kiss a 4-foot-tall man. Their antics are interrupted when they are caught by a woman who claims to be the drag queen's mother. 'Cut!' the director yells. The room roars with laughter.

"This is the set of Iraq's most popular television show. Caricateera - or Caricatures - is Iraq's answer to Saturday Night Live, a variety show driven by biting political satire. It's must-see TV for millions of Iraqis every Friday at 2:35 p.m. Thousands more catch the show on bootleg videodiscs, which sell for less than $1.

"The show's popularity stems from the shots it takes at topics ranging from Iraq's interim government and the nation's violence to the lack of electricity and the U.S. military presence. Such criticism was taboo under the regime of former leader Saddam Hussein."

"Preliminary talks have taken place between the Iraqi Football Association and its Jordanian counterpart about a joint attempt to stage football's showpiece tournament [the World Cup], Crown Prince Feisal Al-Hussein of Jordan has revealed. Because Fifa is rotating the World Cup around the world, the next opportunity for the Middle East, which comes under the Asian confederation, would be 2018."

"[The IMF] predicts a post-conflict economic boom in Iraq this year and in 2005 but admits lending to the country is a big risk because of the fighting and huge debt...

"The organisation says the Iraqi gross domestic product (GDP), or total economic output, should soar 52 per cent this year. Then 17 per cent in 2005 and 9 per cent a year on average from 2006 to 2009.

"The IMF says oil output should climb from 2.1 million barrels per day this year to 3.5 million by 2009.

" 'The authorities' policies have succeeded in promoting overall macroeconomic stability despite the difficult security environment,' the IMF said. 'Inflationary pressures have remained relatively subdued, the exchange rate has remained largely unchanged and gross international reserves have increased by about $3 billion since end-2003.'

"It says its [$463 million] emergency loan to Iraq is expected to galvanise international support for the rebuilding of Iraq, including for relief of foreign debt amounting to more than $120 billion."

"The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced contract awards to The Louis Berger Group, Inc. to stimulate the Iraqi economy through private sector growth, employment generating activities and vocational and technical training programs.

"Under the $120 million award to assist in developing the private sector, the U.S.-based firm will provide assistance in restructuring and privatization of state owned enterprises, developing capital markets, trade policy and business management skills. The firm will also implement activities to promote the development of micro, small and medium businesses...

"A separate $88 million award to The Louis Berger Group, Inc. for vocational education is intended to encourage workforce development with an emphasis on vocational training, technical training and employment services."

"The interim government believes it can double oil production by 2010 if it exploits existing facilities and develops new fields. But it thinks that the only way to do this is by involving the West's energy giants. Iraq currently produces under 3 million barrels of oil a day.

"Thamer Ghadban, the country's Oil Minister, said: 'We believe that there is at least 2.5 to 3 million barrels per day of new oil production capacity that could, in the long term, be added to our production levels.'

"In an interview in a Shell newsletter that is distributed to its Middle Eastern clients, Mr Ghadban added that Iraq would open its doors to the oil giants early next year. 'We would like to open a dialogue with international oil companies [IOCs]. We are now formulating our policies ... and we think there is room for IOCs in Iraq - in particular in the upstream because we need new investment'."

"Outside Iraq, the minister's problems are of a very different kind; they stem from the fact that wherever he goes in the world there is a queue of senior international oil company officials jostling to meet him. At the last OPEC meeting, and the subsequent seminar in Vienna in September, Ghadhban faced a deluge of requests for meetings from the moment he stepped out of his room in the Inter-Continental Hotel each morning until late into the night...

"For public consumption, the international oil firms are adopting a general position that the lack of security and an elected government prevent them from going into Iraq in the near term. But that does not reveal the full picture - far from it. Behind the scenes there is perceptible jockeying among the companies to make contacts and develop relations with the Iraqi oil authorities in preparation for future developments."

"the Ministry of Transportation considers standardizing, reviving and modernizing the railroad a vital recovery link for Iraq. Rails now run from Mosul in the north to Basra in the south, a nearly 1,263mile lifeline...

"An anti-aircraft gun on the roof of the Baghdad station made the depot a target during the 2003 ousting of the former regime. A complete modernization of the main terminal is underway and is expected to take about six months to complete.

"Rehabbing of the stations will cost more than $55 million, said Safa Shubat, an engineer familiar with both U.S. and Iraqi railroads. The ministry and other agencies are upgrading the track for safety, as well as rolling stock, he said. Shubat grew up in Iraq and traveled to the United States for degrees in engineering."

"Dates could again become a big asset to the economy of Iraq, once ranked the world's top producer and exporter of the fruit, which is regarded as a national symbol with deep religious and historic roots. But the Iran-Iraq war, Saddam's draining of vast southern marshes, U.N. sanctions and the most recent conflict have led to the industry's decline.

"Farron Ahmed Hussein, a senior official in the Ministry of Agriculture in Baghdad, said production this year was expected to hover around 600,000 tons. No accurate statistics are available for 2003, when U.S. forces invaded... But... with more crop dusting, fertilizer application and improvement of date palm culture, Iraq had the potential for boosting output to 1 million tons, thus regaining the world's No. 1 spot."

"The commissioning of the generators in September added 47 Megawatts of electricity to the grid – enough to fuel 141,000 Iraqi homes, adding to the estimated 15 million Iraqi homes already serviced by the national grid... Electricity production in the country averages approximately 5,000 Megawatts, a total that exceeds the pre-war level of 4,400...

"A new 30-kilometer transmission line was also brought online in September in South Central Iraq, bringing more electricity to the region and linking the country’s first new power station to a key substation in the region. The installation of the line and commissioning of the four generators are the latest successes in the $1 billion effort to rebuild the country’s antiquated electrical infrastructure.

"The successes come as weeks of inventory and training were completed to transfer seven electrical stations back to the Ministry of Electricity. The transfer marked the completion of the U.S.-led renovation at the seven sites that put 429 Megawatts on the national grid...

"Six additional power stations are slated to be transferred to the Ministry in October, a move that will return an additional 986 Megawatts of generation capacity – enough to service 2 million Iraqi homes.

"Since arriving in Iraq last fall, the Corps has built more than 1,200 towers, repaired 8,600 kilometers of transmission line and rehabilitated or built enough generators to bring an additional 1,621 Megawatts to the national grid – enough to service 4.8 million Iraqi homes."

"As part of its efforts to bolster security and the economy in Northern Iraq, the 1st Infantry Division partnered with civilian companies and the Army Corp of Engineers to repair the Bayji Power Plant complex.

"The facility, which is comprised of three power plants, once generated 1,300 megawatts of power. But after the first Gulf War, Iraqi officials were unable to get parts to maintain the plants because of sanctions levied against the country. The three plants were generating a little less than 400 megawatts of power prior the American-led invasion of Iraq last year.

"Since then, coalition forces have worked diligently to repair the complex, which was one of the major power sources in the nation. In August, it was generating about 800 megawatts of power...

"The plant employees 2,000 locals, 1,200 of which are permanent... As of August, the 1st Infantry Division had spent more than $1 million on parts for the plant.

"Aside from repairs to the 500-acre complex, security was a major issue. Its fence had gaping holes that serve as a gateway for looters who frequently stole equipment and supplies from the power plant... To remedy that problem, the Big Red One spent $450,000 to build a 12-foot wall around the entire complex. That project created more than 700 jobs for locals, as six different contractors who submitted the lowest bids worked on the wall simultaneously...

"The plant is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2005."

"American officials say the U.S. Project and Contracting Office is completing renovations on about 200 schools, and it soon plans to begin work on 1,000 more. They also say the work is being done without swarms of subcontractors — who the Iraqi government claims have contributed to shoddy work in the past. And it’s all working with a minimum investment in security, thanks to low-profile operations.

"So far, work has focused on the southern part of the country, but will soon move north. The entire project will cost $79 million, or about $35,000 to $65,000 per school. A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Iraq’s Ministry of Education and local headmasters decide what the schools need, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers signs off on the quality of the completed work before contractors are paid. Iraqis are doing the on-site work so as not to attract attention, saving money on security costs."

"The children struck a chord with Johnston, who played high school soccer in Greenville and is a high school, college and youth referee. His own children played soccer at Erskine Academy in South China. Johnston contacted Carol Woodcock, executive director of Soccer Maine, who sought out vendors to provide soccer balls, T-shirts and shorts.

"Shipments began arriving last spring and were erratic because Johnston didn't stay in the same place for too long. But he finally had everything in hand last month, and he began doling out the equipment on Sept. 27. Under heavy guard, Johnston went to a dump where he had observed many of the local children scavenging for anything usable and distributed his treasure trove of 48 sets of shorts and T-shirts and 22 soccer balls. 'The kids were ecstatic and they came running from all over,' he said. 'It seemed like (they) were crawling out from under rocks. We had a hard time to control them and get them into a line so I could give (the equipment) out'."

"A Newport man who's the son of a California firefighter was appalled when he saw a news clip of an Iraqi firefighter going into a blaze wearing flip-flops and a T-shirt - when many American fire departments are blessed with a surplus of equipment. Thom Nelson decided to help. As he was bringing a new fishing boat up the coast from California to his home in Newport, he asked fire departments along the way to donate extra jackets, pants, gloves, helmets, hoses and other gear.

" 'We have an abundance of surplus gear that's no longer up to our standards,' Nelson told the Daily Astorian newspaper. 'If some of this gear helps save some Iraqi's life, that Iraqi would have a better opinion of us, and view us more favorably.'

"Nelson, who has collected more than four pallets so far, hopes to get enough equipment for 10 stations by next month. He said he will send it to Iraq with the help of the National Guard or the relief organization Doctors Without Borders."

"He was a young street orphan in his native Baghdad before being 'adopted' by a U.S. military unit stationed there. Johnny, as officials are calling him, quickly rose to the status of 'American hero' after he warned troops of impending attacks and armed them with key surveillance.

"Now, the United States is returning the favor with a life-saving mission of its own. Johnny, a target on insurgents' wanted posters in Iraq, was whisked Monday night to Omaha, where he will become part of the Girls and Boys Town family.

The 16-year-old will live and study alongside other formerly neglected or abandoned kids and go down in Boys Town history as a rare wartime informant who found refuge on the famous campus founded by Father Flanagan nearly 90 years ago. 'I feel great,' Johnny said after arriving at Eppley Airfield, an American flag peeking out of his shirt pocket. 'Everything is OK'."

"When Army engineer Capt. Tony Hearn arrived in Iraq in March to survey the sanitation situation, he found large areas of Baghdad were literally 'a mess.'

"Trash was everywhere. Empty lots had become default landfills. Garbage collectors were underpaid. Few trucks were operating because they lacked parts. 'On my first visit to one site, my boot got stuck in the carcass of an animal,' Hearn says.

"Houston native Hearn, 30, is part of the 8th Engineer Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, a unit responsible for renovating SWET — sewer, water, electricity and trash — in western Baghdad. The unit quickly set about funding $2.4 million in projects to improve trash collection."

"That message has been forwarded not only throughout the United States but also to Okinawa, where staff members at the U.S. Naval Hospital rallied for the cause. The e-mail has netted Collins more than 10,000 pairs of shoes for the Kicks for Kids program, she said in a phone interview Tuesday. Almost 900 of those came from the hospital here."

"Sgt. Chris Cummings saw the young man standing on the side of a road in Baghdad. The teenager was balancing on one crutch. Most of his right leg was missing. 'Pull over,' Cummings said to his driver.

"The Humvee stopped next to the young man. Cummings would later recall that the amputee, Ali, looked intimidated when he saw a U.S. military vehicle stop in front of him. Through a translator, Cummings was able to find out the boy's name and that he had lost his leg in a hit and run accident with a truck two years ago. The 15-year-old did not know yet that Cummings had something special to offer. 'He was our inaugural patient,' said Cummings."

"Since encountering Ali a month ago, Cummings has met nearly 50 patients in Baghdad. Most lost their limbs years ago, in accidents or in wartime. Some have injuries that date back to Iraq's bloody eight-year war with Iran in the 1980s. A few trace their wounds to the U.S. invasion last year and its aftermath. Amputees who come to Operation Restoration get the work done for free. The Army donated $44,000 to the project, and Lindsley's hospital donated medical supplies and equipment."

"In its first reconstruction project in Iraq, the South Korean troops that began operations here last month are working with cultural experts to restore one of the oldest castles in the world, troop officials said Friday.

"The castle in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil, which was built centuries ago and is now home to squatters, is being reconstructed by the South Korean troop unit, Zaitun (which means 'olive' in Arabic), officials said...

"South Korean military officials said they will consult with Korean archeologists and members of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization on the castle project.

"For the restoration, the troops plan to employ about 50 locals to help them collect rubbish from around the castle’s walls. The troops will also be repairing sewage systems, rebuilding houses and teaching locals. Electric generators, heaters, clothes and other daily necessities will be provided to people of the area, the officials said. The troops are also considering putting up residential buildings for homeless people from the castle area."

"In the teeming Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad, machine guns, mortar launchers and ammunition were trickling in to police stations under a five-day test agreement that could clear the road for a lasting truce in one of the major flashpoints of the Iraq insurgency...

"Weapons were handed in mostly by intermediaries, in exchange for cash, at one of three police stations serving as drop-off centers that had been cordoned off by police and Iraqi national guard. US troops were also present at the sites...

"Sadr City, home to 2.5 million people, has been devastated by six months of fighting between the US army and Sadr's militia. Intense air strikes and street skirmishes are believed to have sharply reduced the militia's ranks from more than 10,000 followers to less than 2,000 since April, the US military says."

"A government plan to entice Iraq's biggest Shiite militia to turn in its weapons in return for cash here has brought in enough arms in its first week that Iraqi officials extended the program on Sunday and said that it might be spread to other cities.

"The cooperation with the buyout has raised hopes that the militia's leader, Moktada al-Sadr, would continue his turn toward entering the country's democratic process.

"Underscoring the buyout's progress, Prime Minister Ayad Allawi ventured into the heart of Baghdad's hostile Shiite district to salute the militia, the Mahdi Army, for surrendering more than 1,000 of its heavy weapons in the past week. As Iraqi troops nearby assembled stacks of surrendered weapons at a soccer stadium in the district, Sadr City, Dr. Allawi said he was 'thrilled' and urged more progress."

"The Iraqi Police Service will graduate 1,137 police recruits from a police basic training course at the Jordan International Police Training Center in Amman, Jordan, Oct. 14...

"It is the single largest graduation of Iraqi officers from the basic training course. Since establishing the formal training requirements for police recruits at the center, approximately 5,700 officers have completed training at the school.

"The eight-week training program -- divided into general policing and operational policing components -- runs recruits through intensive basic police education in modern methods..."

"The program - still in the early establishment stages - delivered riot helmets, ballistic vests, batons, flex cuffs, protective masks, various office supplies, an evidence kit, and duty belts complete with various keepers, holsters, clips, and pouches. The equipment was donated by the Los Angeles School Police Department as part of an exchange program intended to link police stations in America with sister stations in Iraq."

"To add an immediate strike-force capability to Iraq's police forces, the Ministry of Interior -- in one of the Iraqi interim government's first self-initiated security force moves since the June 28 sovereignty handover -- has begun forming six police commando battalions.

"Initially stood up some six weeks ago, two battalions of highly vetted Iraqi officers and rank-and-file servicemen were operational within two weeks and performed with great distinction in anti-Iraqi force counter-operations in four recent insurgent hotspots, officials said.

"The force now has a third battalion in training, with a fourth and fifth recruited a week ago but yet to undergo initial training. Recruiting prior-service professionals, officials said, was designed to allow immediate employment of the battalions, putting to work personnel from the former regime's Special Forces elements and other specialty units."

"At least 200 officers were deployed along a 100-mile stretch between the southern Iraqi cities of Nasiriyah and Basra, said Brig. Ali al-Moussawi, commander of Iraq's southern borders. He told The Associated Press his men assumed responsibility from a U.S.-based private security firm that had employed Iraqi, British and American guards to protect southern oil installations since the end of U.S.-led military operations in Iraq last year."

"The Iraqi air force's 70th Squadron will take possession of the first two SAMA CH2000 light air surveillance aircraft, Oct. 29, in Basrah, as the first delivery of an eight – and possibly 16 aircraft – addition to the force.

"In standing up the balance of the aircraft, the Iraqi air force will receive two CH2000 airplanes per month - deliveries kicking off in December - with final deliveries completing the $5.8 million acquisition at the end of March 2005.

"The SAMA CH2000 is a two-seat single engine-prop airplane equipped with forward looking infrared – a multi sensor imager offering high performance, precision, and high level imaging . The aircraft will also be equipped with state-of-the art communications systems guaranteeing continuous and secure air and land communications using various band widths. The craft are capable of day and nighttime missions."

"Fearful of a large-scale U.S. attack, native insurgents in the Iraqi city of Fallujah are turning against allied foreign fighters... The disputes have spilled over into harsh words and sporadic violence, with Fallujans killing at least five foreign Arabs in recent weeks, witnesses told the newspaper.

" 'If the Arabs will not leave willingly, we will make them leave by force,' said Jamal Adnan, a taxi driver who left his house after the house next door was bombed by U.S. aircraft targeting foreign insurgents. One of the foreign guerrillas killed by local fighters was Abu Abdallah Suri, a Syrian and a prominent member of Jordanian dissident Abu Musab Zarqawi's Jihad group. His body was found Sunday, shot in the head and chest following a chase by a carload of tribesmen."

"Soldiers with B Company, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry walk through the streets, accompanied by two gun trucks. During the mission, time is made to speak with members of a youth soccer team and buy ice cream cones for grateful children. Company leaders speak with merchants offering everything from watermelon to hubcaps. Virtually every resident stops and stares at the passing throng, most of them smiling and waving. After an hour on patrol, the Soldiers turn and head back to their forward operating base.

"The situation would be unremarkable, if not for the location. Less than two
weeks prior, anti-Iraq forces controlled Samarra and most of the residents stayed inside out of fear. 'We couldn't have walked through this area a week ago without being shot up with RPGs,' said 1st Lt. Greg Longo, a B 1-14 platoon leader from Calumet, Mich. Claims have been paid for damage to homes, and uniforms have been bought for a local youth soccer team. 'We're winning over those folks that may have been borderline before,' Longo said. 'It's night and day as far as their reception toward us now and before'."

"Coalition troops have seized $30 million worth of heroin intended for sale on Iraqi streets by rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's militia, the former commander of the 9,000-strong Polish force in south-central Iraq says.

"Lt. Gen. Mieczyslav Bieniek said the militia was using the drug profits 'to pay for action' against coalition forces and that some members of the Mahdi's Army were 'under the influence [while] fighting us.'

"The Polish commander was in Washington last week and said that the heroin trade was so pervasive that militia members were known as the 'pink army' — named after the red plastic bags they use to peddle the drugs. Military reports from southern Iraq, as well as State Department and Iraqi sources, have said militants also were using and selling amphetamines in Najaf and Baghdad."

"As America's efforts in Iraq have hit deep sludge, one can measure the ambient gloating on the Richter scale. But the real question lies elsewhere: If America fails in Iraq, if its soldiers pack up and leave for home, is that really so desirable for the Iraqis in particular and Middle Eastern democrats in general?

"Maybe the question is prompted by too many smug observations that the U.S. is an empire that, by its imperial nature, can do no right - this from Arab academics who have long sunk their teeth into American tenureship. Maybe it comes from too many remarks that since President George W. Bush's administration has not done well for the Palestinians, it cannot possibly do so for the Iraqis. Or maybe it comes from a realization that for many people, especially in the Middle East, the war in Iraq is not about Iraqis or democracy at all; it's about watching America stumble...

"There is no withdrawal option in Iraq today that would truly benefit the Iraqis. Even the most ardent foes of America must recognize, if Iraqi interests rather than Washington's humiliation top their agenda, that it must succeed in its endeavors... Meanwhile, some might want to consider that applauding American setbacks is tantamount to wishing Iraq the very worst."