Iraqi village shows hope for wider stability

Their determination to restore normalcy here is an example of what U.S. officials hope will fuel Iraqi's future, which is threatened less now by mass violence than by the psychological weight of decades of conflict.

What's happening in this small Shiite village says two important things about the role of U.S. forces in Iraq at this stage of a war that is growing quieter by the week: It reveals how drastically American troops have shifted their focus from combat to helping Iraqis build on a newfound, if fragile, peace. And it reflects a continuing concern among U.S. commanders that the security gains could slip.

"They are opening a new page," says Col. Saeed Khlayef Yassin, an Iraqi army battalion commander who helped escort a visiting group of American Army officers through the farming village Thursday.

From the piles of rubble that al-Qaida left behind when it was driven out last December, Khidr residents are erecting makeshift homes, while looking to the government in Baghdad for more help footing the bill.

Col. Jefforey Smith, a deputy commander of U.S. forces in areas south of the Iraqi capital, approached one young man standing beside small piles of sand, mortar and a few bars of reinforced steel. Smith asked him whether he felt concerned that al-Qaida could re-emerge to wreak havoc once again.

"We won't let them steal our dignity like before," the man responded, speaking through a U.S. military interpreter.

The U.S. intention is to push hard now, while there is still a large U.S. troop presence in Iraq--150,000 as of this week--to get the Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad to connect more closely with provincial authorities to improve essential services. In the Khidr area, farming suffers for a lack of irrigation.

Smith sees an opportunity to establish a foundation for sustainable stability in Iraq, but the chance won't last.

"We can't miss it," he said in an interview later at his office at Multi-National Division-Center headquarters.