Asia Times has a 5 part series on Iraq (reporters stayed with troops)

[donsu]

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EJ28Ak01.html

Part I - This Is The Wild, Wild West
Part II - Why We Are Here
Part III - The Locals
Part IV - Operation Decaptitation
Part V - The Wrong Ayoub

from Part III:

AL-QAIM, western Iraq - Ayman Aftam, a portly young customs office manager on the Iraqi al-Huseiba border with Syria, owes his position and salary to the American soldiers of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR) who took control of the western region of Iraq and re-established a customs service, in addition to police.

He explains that World Food Program rations are smuggled from Iraq and sold in Syrian markets. Cooking oil, sold at 1,500 dinars (less than US$1) for five liters in Iraq, costs the equivalent of 6,000 dinars in Syria. Smuggling weapons from Iraq to Syria is also common. "Everything is so cheap here," he says. "Rocket-propelled grenade launchers, grenades which cost about 2,000 dinars, even the engines from abandoned Iraqi fighter planes. Syrian traders load their trucks full of weapons from the local arms markets to take back." Iraqis smuggle benzene out of the country into Syria by building large tanks beneath their cars and raising the chassis.

Aftam, 26, who studied law at Baghdad University, saw hundreds of foreign mujahideen, or holy fighters, enter Iraq through the al-Qaim crossing before the war. "We welcomed them because they were here to defend our country," he says. As for the Americans, "We don't welcome them. They are occupying forces. We haven't seen anything good from them, only an occupation." He conceals his resentment from the American soldiers he cooperates with, but in Arabic he demands, "Why do they come with their Bradleys in front of our houses, and put their boots on our people's heads? Why don't they wave back when our children wave to them? They just keep their guns pointed at us." Aftam also refers to the many innocent people he claims the Americans have killed, including a man who drove up to their checkpoint but did not understand the instructions and was shot.

-snip-

The man answers: "It's true that the Americans give us more freedom, but they don't respect us, searching our houses and treating us improperly." The owner of the cafe interjects angrily, "We have no dignity now because of American soldiers. We are very angry that American soldiers don't respect civilians. Now we are all mujahideen. Any man who can't fight will give his money to fighters. Even Saddam was better to us and gave us more respect." A passer-by agrees: "It's not freedom, it's an occupation."
-snip-
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Iraqis don't want to be occupied. REVENGE is the word of the day.