Unit tries new type of awakening in Iraqi town

Men line up to be searched while applying for civil service jobs in the village of Huda, near the town of Salman Pak about 25 15 miles southeast of Baghdad on Dec. 27.


Unit tries new type of awakening in Iraqi town
By Elena Becatoros - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jan 2, 2008 14:46:55 EST

HUDA, Iraq — Children skip across a stream of raw sewage on a side road, trash piles up in a dusty lot and there are few desks — and even fewer chairs — in the village school’s dark, cold classrooms.

On the main street, fruits and vegetables are displayed for sale on sacks lying under corrugated metal awnings.

Huda, a Shiite village of about 3,000 southeast of Baghdad, sits on the edge of a region the U.S. military and locals say is dominated by insurgents and al-Qaida in Iraq. Here, many men are out of work, and the village is in desperate need of basic services.

Grinding poverty and disillusionment with the government and U.S.-led coalition can create fertile ground for insurgent or militia recruitment.

But the U.S. military believes it has a way to help residents and the village by providing jobs that also could dim the allure of militancy.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/01/ap_newawakening_080102/