Swords Into Bumper Cars-suspected guerrillas rebuild Iraq amusement pk

http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/egx40H5DEY0G2B0Fy410Aq

Turning Swords Into Bumper Cars
The U.S. Army hires suspected guerrillas to rebuild an amusement park in Iraqi hot spot.

By Monte Morin, Times Staff Writer

KUT, Iraq — In a Disney-esque approach to guerrilla warfare, U.S. Army commanders here are hiring suspected members of a Shiite Muslim militia to help rebuild a rusted and abandoned amusement park that once drew thousands of families with its Ferris wheel, bumper cars, fountains and grassy picnic areas.

The plan may sound far-fetched. But commanders in the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment say it's based on this simple premise: Enemy fighters don't have time to fire rockets or mortar shells if they're busy earning a living. Rebuilding the amusement park should occupy dozens of men for weeks. <snip>

The Kut amusement park is the first public works effort to target suspected followers of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr. <snip>

...with the destruction of their socialist economy, this is what the US should have been doing a year ago. I'm sure this wasn't a Bush suggestion. Likely from career officer that was sick of watching body bags come home...