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U.S. military intelligence in Iraq has been steadily improving due largely to ordinary Iraqis.
It turns out that U.S. money is having an effect in Iraq. People with information about Saddam Hussein or his aides are being drawn by the prospect of major cash rewards. Quietly, U.S. agents are receiving information on al-Qaida and other Sunni insurgents in the so-called Sunni Triangle, particularly in Saddam's stronghold of Tikrit.
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U.S. officials said the Iraqi-supplied intelligence began to flow in earnest after Saddam's two sons were killed in Mosul in July. The Iraqi who reported the information got more than $25 million, and suddenly people understood there was plenty of money to be made.
"That event itself has led to a large increase in the amount of intelligence that Iraqis are bringing to us – indeed such a large increase that we now have the challenge of sorting out the wheat from the chaff," said Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz.
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Some of the information on Sunni insurgents has been good. Officials said most of the counter-insurgency operations by coalition forces are based on intelligence from Iraqi sources. If the intelligence is good, the U.S. commanders bring out the piggy bank.
Relations between the U.S. military and the Sunni community have improved rapidly in the area north of Baghdad. Attacks still occur daily, but there is beginning to be trust as well as a core of Sunnis who want to work with the Americans.
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The U.S. Marines have particularly good relations with ordinary Iraqis.
They brought cold water to Iraqis stranded in the brutal summer heat. When the Marines talk to Iraqis they remove their sunglasses to make eye contact.
One Marine lieutenant came up with an idea that has spread throughout the country. When a Marine patrol sees an Iraqi funeral procession, it stops. As the hearse passes, the Marines present arms to show respect. The gesture almost never fails to win the respect of Iraqi bystanders.
Will this win the day for the U.S. military in Iraq? Perhaps. If the local population quietly cooperates with the Americans or at least stays aloof from the propaganda of Saddam and al-Qaida, the power of the U.S. military might very well prevail.
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