You break it, you pay for it
Camp Fallujah, Iraq--As block-by-block fighting raged last week in Fallujah, a group of eager Army reservists awaited the OK for their specialized mission: to go into the city's battle-scarred neighborhoods and pay reparations to Iraqi civilians for some of the destruction from bombardment by U.S. fighter planes, artillery, and tank fire.
Sgt. Alfredo Despy, 30, readied himself with bags of Jolly Ranchers candy to give to children "to let them know I'm not just the ugly American who came to destroy their city." Gunnery Sgt. Jamie Gomez (a marine attached to the Army unit) had an even better gift for the people of Fallujah: $300,000 in neat stacks of crisp, American greenbacks, shoved into his backpack alongside his gym socks and a disposable camera. "We're here to help people, and part of winning hearts and minds just boils down to money," said Maj. Paul Butler, a lawyer in his civilian life, leading this civil affairs team prepped to go as soon as the commander of the 1st Infantry's Division's Task Force 2-2 deemed the streets safe enough for their outreach effort to civilians.
The team is authorized to pay for destroyed houses and cars, up to $2,500 a person. The soldiers assess the damage done by weeks of intense fighting to pave the way for contractors, who will attempt to upgrade the water and medical facilities, as well as the damaged power plants. What if a rebel fighter asks for money posing as a civilian? "I won't know that, will I?" Butler said with a shrug. "I'd rather err on the side of keeping the Iraqis happy." -Ilana Ozernoy
This story appears in the November 22, 2004 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.
advertisement
