Iraq lessons learned, U.S. Marines turn to Afghanistan

By Peter Graff

DESERT OF DEATH, Afghanistan (Reuters) - After five years coping with the most dangerous province in Iraq, the U.S. Marines have been given their next assignment: the most dangerous province in Afghanistan.

But this time around, they say they will talk a little more and shoot a little less.

"We spent so much time in Iraq learning from our mistakes," said Corporal Mahmoud Awada, a 21-year-old Lebanese-American Marine from Utah, who spent the second half of 2007 and early 2008 in Anbar west of Baghdad.

"We learned that we can't just go around kicking down doors because that won't work. In Iraq, what really helped us win over there, make the situation better, was gaining the trust of the people, becoming friends with them."

The Marines that have arrived in recent weeks in Afghanistan's wild southern Helmand province are a different force from the Marines who blasted their way into Anbar.

Back then, the Marines were still learning the art of counter-insurgency warfare.

An Arabic speaker, Awada worked closely with the Iraqi army. It was frustrating at times, but it opened his eyes.

"You have to sit down and talk with them, talk for a while, enjoy a nice cup of tea, get to know them a little better, ask them how their family is doing," Awada said.