Reporter's Notebook: Meal with a sheik seals friendship

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Sheik Jassim Zeydon Khalef al-Dulaymi, background, hosts soldiers while an assistant carries a tray of chai tea on Dec. 29 in Taji, Iraq.


Reporter's Notebook: Meal with a sheik seals friendship
By Travis J. Tritten, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Thursday, January 22, 2009

TAJI, Iraq — The sheik’s reception room was the size of a banquet hall. Colorful rugs covered the floor and the ceiling was hung with ornate golden chandeliers. The walls were lined with stuffed couches and tables decorated with glass elephants.

Sheik Jassim Zeydon Khalef al-Dulaymi, dressed in the traditional Arab dishdashah robe and shumagg head scarf, greeted some of the U.S. soldiers with a kiss on each cheek. He is an important man in Taji, north of Baghdad, and everything about him says so.

Meeting with sheiks is still a key job for soldiers on the front lines in Iraq. On this day in early January, the sheik had prepared a special treat for members of the 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division — a lunchtime meal of broiled fish.

Many soldiers relish the lunches of Iraqi delicacies, even though it often means days of digestive distress.

“We don’t consider you occupiers, we consider you friends, especially since the new security agreement was signed,” said the sheik, a reserved man with intense eyes, before servants brought out a large tray of food.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=60159