New U.S. ambassador to Iraq must win the hearts, minds

As John Negroponte ponders the challenges he will face as America's first ambassador in a sovereign Iraq, he would do well to use as inspiration an Associated Press picture that was printed on the front page of Tuesday's New York Times and in many other newspapers around the country.
The picture shows an Iraqi man in a head scarf kissing the hand of an American soldier, Cpl. Joseph Sharp. But it was the reason for such a poignant expression of gratitude that should cause Negroponte, the U.S. representative to the United Nations, to sit up and take notice: Cpl. Sharp and his fellow Marines had delivered food and water to the Iraqis in violence-ridden Falluja.
Food and clean water -- the keys to winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people.
The promise of freedom, now President Bush's justification for the expenditure of billions of dollars and the deployment of hundreds of thousands of soldiers, will not in itself win over the populace. America's flexing of its military muscle, while essential to restoring peace, feeds the growing perception that the soldiers are occupiers rather than liberators.
The death and destruction being spawned by Islamic extremists and members of terrorist organizations, including Al-Qaida, are a stark reminder that the toppling of Saddam Hussein's dictatorial regime has not resulted in the outpouring of national gratitude Bush and his inner circle of advisers had anticipated.
Indeed, even those Iraqis who last year welcomed the coalition forces with cheers and flowers are now expressing dismay over the continuing unrest and the lack of basic necessities.
Experienced diplomat
Negroponte, an experienced diplomat whose foreign service has taken him to other hotspots around the world, must be aware of the tightrope he will be walking when he assumes his new assignment on June 30. That's the date Bush and his closest ally in the war in Iraq, Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain, have set for Iraq to attain sovereignty. An interim government will take the reins from the governing council and will work to prepare the country for the adoption of a constitution and elections next year.
Although Negroponte will bear the title of "ambassador" and will reside in the U.S. embassy in Baghdad -- it was Saddam's palace during the murderous dictator's heyday -- he will have much more power than a traditional head of mission, seeing as how coalition forces will be responsible for national security and law and order.
In that regard, as the Bush administration's point- man in Iraq, Negroponte's word will be law -- even though the president insisted recently that the interim government will be in charge.
On the other hand, he does have a major advantage because of his service in the United Nations. He has forged close ties with U.N Secretary General Kofi Annan and other top officials and also has worked well with representatives from Security Council members, such as Britain, France and Germany.
In light of the commitment by Bush and Blair to give the U.N. a greater role in Iraq's stride toward democracy, Negroponte's relationships will be a major plus.
In the end, however, it is America that must show the people of Iraq that the March 2003 invasion, the overthrow of Saddam's regime and the ultimate capture of the Butcher of Baghdad were not a disguise for an imperialistic takeover of their oil-rich country.
The delivery of food and water to villages, towns and cities, especially those in violence-ridden regions, will go far in proving that our cause in Iraq is just.