Friday, December 17, 2004; Page A01
(snip)
But nearly two years on, many Iraqis say, the occupation has become more than a simple ledger of tasks completed. The American experience has become like the three-inch bulletproof windshield of a Humvee -- the U.S. military can gaze through the glass while not always hearing what's being said in the streets. In Sadr City, even in neighborhoods clouded with the acrid haze of newly laid asphalt, words of appreciation are often clouded with lingering suspicions. The disenchantment is so deep in some places that it leaves a question most U.S. officials prefer not to address: Is the battle for hearts and minds already lost?
"The Americans came as soldiers, and they're here to serve their interests," said Ziad Khalaf, a 25-year-old mechanic who talks less about reconstruction and more about the lack of electricity and fuel for a heater to keep his newborn son warm.
Holmes has his answer to the question. "They're tired of fighting, they want to move forward, and they want a better life, and that's what we want to give them," he said as the day drew to a close over his base, near a gas station snarled with waiting lines.
His chief operations officer, Maj. Pete Andrysiak, offered another perspective. "Things could have been done quicker," he acknowledged, standing next to his parked Humvee. "Had we come in and been a little bit more prepared, it would have had an impact. I like to think that. They didn't necessarily know conditions were going to be the way they were."
"It's a lesson learned," he added.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6027-2004Dec16.html
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