To Many, Mission Not Accomplished

"Nobody is against the government," protested Aouf Khasheri, an engineer and village leader.

"My information is different," responded Bullimore, smiling.

Rocket-propelled grenades have been fired at his unit's tanks patrolling in Bughros, he noted, and his men have been fired upon from rooftops by gunmen wearing the black clothes that are a sign of insurgents loyal to the former Baath Party government.

"Why do they do that?" asked a white-turbaned sheik, pointing out that the village contains many former Iraqi soldiers who have come home with nothing to do. "Because they don't have jobs. That's why they attack you."

Khasheri, dressed in Western clothes and speaking passable English, urged Bullimore to pay his respects to the sheiks before venturing into the village. When he wants to go somewhere around Bughros, Khasheri said, he goes to the sheik who controls the territory and asks authorization to proceed. Then the sheik gives him gunmen to escort him and all goes well.

That is the way the U.S. Army should do things, he suggested.

"Look at this man," he added, gesturing to a sheik dressed in traditional Arab headdress and robes. "He is 81. He is a big sheik. In Saddam Hussein's days, people used to come to him. They did not ask him to come to their office for a meeting. No, they went to him. Now the coalition forces have killed his son."

The suggestion seemed to have little appeal for Bullimore, who pointed out that occupation rules allow only one gun per household. For those who wanted a permit to legalize their weapons, he said, a form was available with his aides that could be taken to the town hall.

'We Meet With Everybody'

Since November, Edward Peter Messmer has been trying to build Baqubah into a democratic, economically flourishing city. The going has been rough, he acknowledged in an interview, but progress is visible. It will be even more visible, he said, when the $18 billion recently approved for Iraq's civilian and police reconstruction starts flowing through the economy.

"That right now is kicking into gear," said Messmer, a diplomat who was detached from the U.S. Consulate in Bombay to come to Baqubah.

Provincial officials said bids must be received by noon Saturday for the first of the big contracts that will be let here, primarily for sewer, irrigation and electricity-generating projects. But already, Messmer said, the amount of electricity available in Baqubah is increasing and merchants have more money in their pockets.

Baqubah residents have displayed great enthusiasm for the new organs of government he has helped them organize, Messmer said, and for the first time, Iraqi police in the past two weeks have dared to patrol Baqubah's streets at night.

The complaints that only U.S. soldiers are visible around Baqubah are unfounded, he said, since he and his civilian colleagues from the Coalition Provisional Authority sit down regularly with local residents. "We meet with sheiks, we meet with imams, we meet with students, we meet with everybody," he said.

The rebuilding efforts will hit a high moment June 30, Messmer said, when the U.S. occupation formally ends, sovereignty returns to Iraqi authorities and Coalition Provisional Authority officials go home. To celebrate, Baqubah will hold "Sovereignty Day" festivities.

"We're going to have a great time," he said.