Hearts and Minds

Further evidence that I might be close to collecting on my bet with the rest of the Northern Allliance, courtesy of Robert Garcia Tagorda.

The news from Fallujah has been generally good, although not spectacular - which I'd suspect is just fine by the locals.

Marines and Navy Seabees are seeking Iraqi contractors to repair and refurbish mosques in an effort to dispel the notion that the United States has declared war on Islam.

The effort is proceeding more quickly in the surrounding nearby villages than in this Sunni Triangle city where Marines and insurgents waged bloody combat for three weeks.

The Marines have a growing list of mosques that villagers would like help in repairing, renovating or expanding. Few, if any, village mosques were damaged during the fight, but the Americans said that fixing the mosques could elicit more goodwill in return than almost any other construction project.

"The mosques are part of their communal life, and that's what we're here to improve," said Lt. Col. Colin McNease, officer in charge of the civil affairs unit of the 1st Marine Regiment. "This is a good way to demonstrate that this is not a war against Islam."

Unreported in the major media? Check.

And yet it's a win.

Posted by Mitch at May 21, 2004 06:33 AM