In vanguard of 'peaceful occupation'

When four boxes of bottled water from US troops hit the ground, villagers pile onto them. Five year-olds shove and throw elbows to get a bottle or two.

The water is a parting gift from 10 civil-affairs troops who have come to find out what this nearby farming village needs. A crowd gathered as soon as the soldiers approached in Humvees.

Maj. Daniel O'Neil of the 402nd Civil Affairs (CA) battalion instructed his interpreter to find the oldest male. The elder told of water shortages while CA soldiers held their rifles pointed down and shook hands.

"Civil Affairs basically does 'hearts and minds' and 'nation building,' " says Col. Christopher Holshek, who commands the 150-person battalion. "When the shooting stops, the meter starts running for us."

CA troops, in their biggest call-up since World War II, are at the vanguard of Iraq's rolling transition from full-blown war to peaceful occupation. They go to work after the bulk of the fighting has stopped, when civilians are most vulnerable to the failure of vital services and the depredations of looters.

In Basra, Nasiriyah and the suburbs of Baghdad this week, extensive plundering complicated the job of coalition troops, who are trying to stamp out the remnants of Iraqi forces. And amid the chaos of southern Iraq, CA forces must quickly restore the basic services Iraqis depend on. Urgent concerns include providing clean water and food, restoring damaged electrical grids, repairing sewer lines and delivering medicine. If they fail, the US and the UK could win the battle but lose the bigger war for Iraqi stability and self-government. CA troops also negotiate the religious sensitivities that have made armed confrontations with Iraqi forces in the holy Shiite cities of Karbala and Najaf so potentially dangerous to the US war effort.

Chaotic conditions mean that the unit approaches problems cautiously. Even a simple visit to the nearby village of Abu Shwais was undertaken only after days of legwork. Initially, the battalion manned checkpoints on major highways and talked with drivers about local conditions. Then the troops took to smaller roads. Next came drives through town centers, waves, and the Arabic greeting of a salaam aleikum - peace be upon you. Slowly they gained visibility, trust, and information.

"This is the exact opposite of the 'shock and awe' campaign - this is the 'slow and easy' here. We don't want to spook anybody," says Maj. Joe Hermann.

Being the first troops to mingle with civilians can be risky. Several days ago a CA soldier in the area was grazed by a bullet as he rode in a Humvee. While CA forces wear body armor and carry weapons, they must sacrifice some security to appear more friendly. They drive in Humvees without doors and fixed guns, and they get close to strangers to shake hands.

When situations turn hot, says Major Hermann, "you become a good talker real quick."

On the outskirts of Baghdad, Maj. Toney Coleman of the 422nd Civil Affairs Battalion sums up the public-relations problem facing US military forces in Iraq.

"Skepticism is thick as molasses," he says, estimating that 90 percent of the Iraqis he has encountered fear that, as in 1991, murderous reprisals will follow if US forces withdraw from Iraq without overthrowing the Hussein regime. "Only we know we are going to do the right thing this time," he says.

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