RAMADI, IRAQ — The commander of U.S. troops in Iraq wanted some sweets, and nothing was going to stop him. Not even the fact that he was tramping through a neighborhood that only days ago had been teeming with snipers and Al Qaeda fighters who would love nothing better than to say they just shot Gen. David H. Petraeus.
With soldiers casting anxious glances along the desolate dirt road, the four-star Army general made a beeline for a tiny shop and helped himself to a bite-sized, honey-coated pastry proffered by the owner.
Oblivious to the flies buzzing around his head, Petraeus chatted briefly with a man who said his cafe had been damaged in recent battles between U.S. forces and insurgents.
Then, after promising compensation for the cafe owner, Petraeus hiked on. "Tell him the next time I come back to Ramadi, we'll eat his chow," Petraeus said as he headed into the blistering sun.
Days ago, this might not have been possible, but in an effort to show off what they say has been a shift of allegiance among residents in Sunni Arab insurgent territory, U.S. and Iraqi officials Tuesday brought an all-star cast of military and political figures to Ramadi.
While Petraeus did his walkabout, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki visited with regional sheiks, his first stop here since becoming prime minister 10 months ago and part of a campaign to ensure loyalty from powerful Sunnis who once harbored insurgents.
The campaign gained momentum last fall when a group of sheiks from across the western province of Al Anbar, whose capital is Ramadi, met with Maliki in Baghdad.
Just what led to the sheiks' decision to work with the U.S.-backed, Shiite Muslim-dominated government after years of supporting Sunni insurgents depends on whom you ask.
U.S. military officials say the sheiks finally realized that by boycotting the December 2005 elections that eventually brought Maliki to power and refusing to be a part of his government, they were missing out on valuable economic opportunities for their cities and towns.
"This is part of joining the process," said the commander of multinational forces in this region, Marine Maj. Gen. Walter E. Gaskin. "They realize that if they had taken part in the elections, well, perhaps some of these sheiks would be the governor or the provincial chairman."
