Friend or foe?

What is the status of the hearts and minds of the people we are trying to help in Iraq?

Reports from the Iraq war zone are about as numerous as the people asked for their opinions. Everyone seems to have a view.

Some, particularly the combatants in American uniforms, come home and say we do not hear enough about the “good news.” They refer to a tendency of media sources to emphasize the setbacks, the deaths and the injuries rather than the good our presence there is accomplishing. Or officials trying to justify our activity there by shading things in a more positive vein.

A good many Americans in the Middle East have found a strong kinship with the people they meet and deal with. They are quick to declare our nation is accomplishing a lot of good in the fields of democratization and stabilization for the troubled region.

However, there is another aspect that seems to be coming forth a bit more as people such as recent Pennsylvania National Guard returnees describe their experiences. Along with the pride about building up Iraqi security forces, restoring electricity and watching people walk miles just to vote, there are expressions of bitterness toward the people supposedly being helped, writes Kimberly Hefling of The Associated Press.

“They’re using our good will, our good-nature policy against us,” says Sgt. Bobby Walls, a 38-year-old Pennsylvania Guard member. “The fact we fight as the good guys sometimes gets turned around and kicks us in the can, you know?” Fifteen members of his Guard unit were killed in Iraq’s Anbar province, a stretch of land known as a stronghold of insurgency.

As for the Anbar region, Walls wonders, saying the people “will not be pacified, they will not work with us. I don’t see it ever happening. : Insurgents wear civilian clothes and use women and children as shields. If you’re going to fight the enemy, there are two ways to look at it. You either become just like them, fight them on their own terms, or you take the heavy burden like we’re doing it right now and it’s going to cost American lives. It’s a hell of a price to pay but if you fight them on their own terms you’re no better than they are.

“That’s the true dilemma of a solder right now, to get his sanity and keep his morals, keep his integrity. And it’s hard. It’s a : minute-by-minute struggle.”

The soldier’s comments suggest American leaders have some major decisions to make as soon as possible. Are things improving or deteriorating? Is there any hope we’ll get the kind of cooperation we need from the people and their leaders? Getting the job done in Iraq when the “hearts and minds” of the people are committed to democratization is one thing. Continuing to expend resources and lives without that support is quite another. Americans don’t want Iraq to descend into terrorist-led anarchy, but how much and how soon will the Iraqis willingly help themselves so we do not have to?

Friend or foe? What are we dealing with and how much longer should we keep trying? Americans are looking for some strong leadership in this area and they want it sooner rather than later.