12-10-2007, 10:32 PM
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Banned
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Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 11,152
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"Test by Tea"
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Fragile success for US Iraq surge
BBC correspondent Mark Urban has just returned from a second spell embedded with US soldiers on tour in Iraq to assess Washington's claims of an improving security situation.
Winning over local people has been key to reducing violence in Dora
For the American soldiers patrolling Baghdad's southern suburb of Dora these are days of trial by tea.
For in many houses they enter in this largely Sunni part of the city, hot sweet tea is offered and they know that refusal can offend.
It does not stop at tea either. As a goodwill gesture, the soldiers have taken to buying roast chicken, cheese, bread, and the Iraqi delicacy called samoun - bread dipped in sweet syrup - as they make their rounds of Dora.
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The platoon commander, Lieutenant Jake Carlisle, was himself shot twice during an incident this summer, but was back on the streets six days later.
Local support
I have padded around this part of Dora for four days with Lt Carlisle and can report that this 25-year-old's job is now largely about dishing out money.
Stability has allowed more stalls and shops to open in Dora market
This young officer from Wisconsin is supervising a $200,000 (£100,000) school project and numerous other contracts to get the local economy going again.
Nearby Dora market is thriving. Back in April when we visited, about 200 stall or shop owners were risking snipers and bombs to open for business. Now there are more than 1,000.
Several months ago America's commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, made Dora - a key battleground in Sunni-Shia sectarian violence - into a pilot neighbourhood for his new tactics.
His plan involved trying to win over the population through increased security, what we sometimes call "the surge".
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Spc Jones rates himself as second best Arabic speaker in the platoon and, having seen him in action during our foot patrols, I can testify that he has picked up a remarkable grasp of it.
It is not all Spc Jones has picked up - I tease him that he has grown a little more substantial since our last visit - there are hoots of laughter from his mates.
On his many house calls in Dora, Spc Jones has been filling up on sweet tea and samoun for his country and for the success of the surge.
Everybody in the platoon believes their success is fragile. It could all easily still go wrong.
But if 2007 does prove to be a turning point it will be men like those in 2-12 Infantry who made it possible.
As to what Iraq has done to them, that is a story for the rest of their lifetimes.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programme...nt/7131468.stm
Has a splash of the typical BBC "woe is us" stuff.... but all and all another story highlighting the major successes occuring in Iraq and actually giving credit where its due!
Stay the Course  
Quote:
BBC Two's Newsnight will be showing Mark Urban's film report about his time with 2nd Platoon on Tuesday, 11 December, 2007 from 2230 GMT.
From Our Own Correspondent was broadcast on Saturday, 8 December, 2007 at 1130 GMT on BBC Radio 4. Please check the programme schedules for World Service transmission times.
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