On The Scene: Winning Over Iraqis

U.S. Forces Want To Win Military Fight, Not Lose Political War

(CBS)  CBS News Correspondent Mark Strassmann is traveling with the 101st Airborne Division.

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American forces are now moving deep into Najaf, one of the Muslim world's holiest cities.

Inside neighborhoods, troops keep hunting for several hundred of Saddam's violent holdouts, while at the same time trying to win over everyday Iraqis.

Coalition forces are facing the same challenge in other cities on the march to Baghdad.

In Basra, British forces have circled the city, but continue to battle Iraqi resistance.

U.S. troops in Nasiriyah and the Shiite holy city of Karbala also face stubborn resistance, more than expected.

That's forced a change in the battle plan, sending coalition troops into Iraqi cities rather than around them.

In Najaf, many Iraqis welcome the invading troops, but are still nervous and suspicious. So soldiers are told to smile at the locals - but watch their hands.

At times, the U.S. is brutally direct -- kill the enemy, destroy his assets -- as they fight to oust Saddam's regime.

But often, commanders like Colonel Chris Hughes face a clear constraint. "The main effort is to isolate the mosque," he said.

With its gold dome, Najaf's Holy Shrine Tomb of Ali is sacred to Shia Muslims, Iraq's majority. But inside it, members of the Fedayeen, pro-Saddam paramilitaries, are hiding, and launching attacks.

Hughes must be methodical, and precise. "I don't want to give the perception that we're tearing up the holiest city in the Middle East."

Ali -- the founder of this branch of Islam -- is buried in a cemetery near the mosque. That is also a holy site. And the Fedayeen are also using it as a base, and a shield, gambling U.S. forces won't try to attack it."

In both words and action, the message to Najaf is "U.S. forces mean harm only to the Fedayeen."

"So they're giving them up to us," said Hughes. "The fact that we, as the infidels, have acknowledged the significance to these people has given us local respect."

Respect that U.S. forces will need not just in Najaf, but in the battle for other Iraqi cities, including Baghdad.

They want to win the military fight - and not lose the political war.