A Deadly Face Off; The U.S. military is the biggest, toughest force in Iraq by far. But power cannot ensure calm. That's why the psy-ops guys are worried.

Publication: Newsweek

Publication Date: 26-APR-04

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Byline: Melinda Liu and Rod Nordland, With Babak Dehghanpisheh and bureau reports

Iraq is almost under control. The men in charge are trying to pretend so, anyway. But after the past two weeks of bloodshed, "control" is a slippery term. When the worst of the violence ended, a total of 90 U.S. and Coalition fighters were dead--nearly as many as died in the first two weeks of the war. Now a creepy sort of calm has descended on the country's Shiite areas. Late last week Iranian mediators and moderate Iraqi clerics were still haggling with aides of the renegade cleric Moqtada al-Sadr over the terms for an end to his uprising. U.S. Marines were no closer to subduing the city of Fallujah, despite the deaths of several hundred Iraqis there. Insurgents released a videotape of an American prisoner, Pfc. Keith Maupin, surrounded by masked gunmen. Meanwhile Washington ordered a 90-day extension for 20,000 U.S. soldiers who had dreamed of going home after a year of duty. "We're deeply concerned about the current crisis," said one Coalition official. Then he caught himself. "It's not a crisis yet. You didn't hear me say that."

The really worrisome part isn't the shooting war. It's the long, hard strategic struggle for Iraq's hearts and minds....

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