Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
FNC
June 26, 2008
Special Report With Brit Hume (FNC), 6:00 PM
BRIT HUME: Also in Iraq, like the rest of the world, money talks. And so U.S. military commanders are using cash to pave the way to better relations with Iraqis in the Shiite strongholds of Sadr City. They’re compensating residents whose property has been damaged during the war.
Correspondent Anita McNaught has the story.
ANITA MCNAUGHT: U.S. military bases used to be fortresses, keeping soldiers apart from those who wished them harm. But these locals from Sadr City have been invited inside by the soldiers to discuss reparation for their war damaged homes and property.
SGT. BRENDAN PIPER [Claims Supervisor]: This is the Iraqi Assistance Center. What we do is it’s a direct connection between us and the local populace.
MCNAUGHT: If these residents can prove damage happened during an American operation, the U.S. military will pay restitution. It’s a way of showing the military doesn’t blame the local people for the actions of militiamen in their midst. It’s also a way of winning over their support.
Helping to verify these claims, a local Sadr City lawyer.
MUHANED ABDILRADA [Iraqi Lawyer]: (Translated.) It gives me joy to bring a smile to my people.
MCNAUGHT: This is something new for Iraqis used to collective punishment, for having no redress when militia used their homes as hideouts, and having to pick up their shattered lives on their own. The crucial economic hub of Jamila market was one of the front lines in the – (unintelligible) – battle that ended last month. A lot of homes and businesses were caught in the crossfire. There’s been 930 claims filed so far.
The U.S. military can also tell from the kind of damage whether it was their artillery that caused it. In the case of this street, the fire damage is almost certainly the result of militia mortars. But increasingly in Sadr City, the U.S. military’s taking the view that it’s more important to get the economy going than argue over who did what.
And while the U.S. military has detailed records of what was fired and where, often it’s enough for locals to demonstrate ownership of property in a combat area. The average payout is around $1,700.
PIPER: I think there’s innocent people – there’s honestly innocent people caught in a crossfire. It’s a lot of damage that are happening because we are here.
MCNAUGHT: But it doesn’t mean the U.S. military’s giving out easy money. When this sweet little old lady came in with obviously faked pictures where she was Photoshopped in place of a real victim she’d seen in a newspaper, she and her claims file didn’t get very far.
PIPER: Yeah, we laughed and she knew it because we were all looking and we were passing it around the room.
MCNAUGHT: The hardest person to convince is Muhaned. He scrutinizes land titles, legal documents, and visits local properties to check if they’re worth what their owners are asking before he signs off on them. He knows it’s a job that could get him killed by the militia.
ABDILRADA: (Translated.) If I don’t make sacrifices and others don’t make sacrifices, who will stay and stand up for this country?
MCNAUGHT: Part of the deal which ended the fighting was that the Iraqi army would also compensate citizens for its part in the devastation. That’s coming, but slowly.
In Sadr City, Iraq, Anita McNaught, Fox News.
June 26, 2008
Special Report With Brit Hume (FNC), 6:00 PM
BRIT HUME: Also in Iraq, like the rest of the world, money talks. And so U.S. military commanders are using cash to pave the way to better relations with Iraqis in the Shiite strongholds of Sadr City. They’re compensating residents whose property has been damaged during the war.
Correspondent Anita McNaught has the story.
ANITA MCNAUGHT: U.S. military bases used to be fortresses, keeping soldiers apart from those who wished them harm. But these locals from Sadr City have been invited inside by the soldiers to discuss reparation for their war damaged homes and property.
SGT. BRENDAN PIPER [Claims Supervisor]: This is the Iraqi Assistance Center. What we do is it’s a direct connection between us and the local populace.
MCNAUGHT: If these residents can prove damage happened during an American operation, the U.S. military will pay restitution. It’s a way of showing the military doesn’t blame the local people for the actions of militiamen in their midst. It’s also a way of winning over their support.
Helping to verify these claims, a local Sadr City lawyer.
MUHANED ABDILRADA [Iraqi Lawyer]: (Translated.) It gives me joy to bring a smile to my people.
MCNAUGHT: This is something new for Iraqis used to collective punishment, for having no redress when militia used their homes as hideouts, and having to pick up their shattered lives on their own. The crucial economic hub of Jamila market was one of the front lines in the – (unintelligible) – battle that ended last month. A lot of homes and businesses were caught in the crossfire. There’s been 930 claims filed so far.
The U.S. military can also tell from the kind of damage whether it was their artillery that caused it. In the case of this street, the fire damage is almost certainly the result of militia mortars. But increasingly in Sadr City, the U.S. military’s taking the view that it’s more important to get the economy going than argue over who did what.
And while the U.S. military has detailed records of what was fired and where, often it’s enough for locals to demonstrate ownership of property in a combat area. The average payout is around $1,700.
PIPER: I think there’s innocent people – there’s honestly innocent people caught in a crossfire. It’s a lot of damage that are happening because we are here.
MCNAUGHT: But it doesn’t mean the U.S. military’s giving out easy money. When this sweet little old lady came in with obviously faked pictures where she was Photoshopped in place of a real victim she’d seen in a newspaper, she and her claims file didn’t get very far.
PIPER: Yeah, we laughed and she knew it because we were all looking and we were passing it around the room.
MCNAUGHT: The hardest person to convince is Muhaned. He scrutinizes land titles, legal documents, and visits local properties to check if they’re worth what their owners are asking before he signs off on them. He knows it’s a job that could get him killed by the militia.
ABDILRADA: (Translated.) If I don’t make sacrifices and others don’t make sacrifices, who will stay and stand up for this country?
MCNAUGHT: Part of the deal which ended the fighting was that the Iraqi army would also compensate citizens for its part in the devastation. That’s coming, but slowly.
In Sadr City, Iraq, Anita McNaught, Fox News.