U.S. forces direct Iraqis to new power: local government

BALAD RUZ, Iraq -- When villagers saw the cloud of dust from an approaching U.S. convoy, they hoped Iraq's new powerbrokers had come to solve problems: a broken well, a dilapidated school.

But the U.S. soldiers, mindful that their eventual departure hinges on robust local governments, directed villagers to local officials and elected representatives -- a mind-bending concept for Iraqis formerly accustomed to all power flowing from Saddam Hussein in Baghdad.

In modern Iraqi history, local governments have hardly been the place to solve problems. Other groups -- the former dictator's Baath Party, the Iraqi army, tribal leaders, clerics -- have been far more relevant to daily life.

"In Saddam's Iraq, everyone was encouraged to look to the center -- and to a lesser degree the party -- for action," said Phebe Marr, author of "The Modern History of Iraq."

Emerging new power

The United States is now using millions of reconstruction dollars to repair the capabilities and image of local governments, a central component to an Iraq free of strongmen or bureaucrats who cater to segments of a diverse and fractured society.

City councils have emerged as a new power, channeling U.S. funds for reconstruction projects that pay local residents to build schools, hospitals and other public facilities.

The council members were chosen largely by U.S. officials, but they are hardly beholden to their American sponsors. In Balad Ruz, near the border with Iran, they meet with the U.S. military once a week to coordinate, but they do not report to them.

Lt. Col. William M. Hart, who commands the 1st Squadron, 278th Regiment, 42nd Infantry Division that oversees the area around Balad Ruz, said he has only worked with local leaders -- not officials in Baghdad.

But an expected, eventual decrease in U.S. funding as Americans pull out could also diminish the power that mayors and city councils enjoy.

Other groups want power

Other groups, including tribal leaders, are grappling for power. Insurgents have assassinated council members across the country.

Many villagers still look to the American military for help first, and U.S. soldiers have grown accustomed to being peppered with wide-ranging pleas during their patrols.

Also in Iraq, a car bomb struck a U.S. military patrol Saturday in the Iraqi capital, killing two U.S. soldiers and injuring two others, and a Marine died in action in a restive central province, the military said.

The names of the U.S. troops slain Saturday and details of the car bombing were withheld.

The military also announced Saturday that a Marine was killed a day earlier during an operation in strife-torn Anbar province.

No further details were given of the death of the Marine, assigned to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force.

On Iraq's political front, the interim government's deputy prime minister, Barham Saleh, said Friday that negotiators are intensifying efforts to bring in the country's Sunni Arabs, believed to form the core of Iraq's rebellion. That has caused delays, leading to public frustration with the nascent political process.

Since holding their first session on March 16, lawmakers elected in Jan. 30 elections have repeatedly postponed a second meeting because of ongoing negotiations over the make up of the government.