Micro Battles

Commanders Bound for Iraq Tailor Strategies to a Fragmented Nation (WSJ-sub req):

The Marines also are looking for new ways to help the war-ravaged local economy. Most of al Anbar's business leaders have fled to neighboring Jordan and Syria, and unemployment in the province is well above 60%.

In recent weeks, the Marines preparing to go to al Anbar have brought in economic-development experts to talk with them about microlending as a means of jump-starting small businesses. Microlenders provide small loans to would-be entrepreneurs who can't secure traditional financing. Loan recipients typically open shops or craft businesses, helping to bolster the local economy.

"The legitimate economy in al Anbar is dominated by local businesses that employ eight to 15 people," says Col. John Koenig, who is overseeing economic development and governance planning. Only about $250,000 has been allocated from the U.S. government's multibillion-dollar Iraq reconstruction budget for microlending efforts in al Anbar, but Marine officials are hopeful that will grow.

Given the success of microlending in other areas of the world and the problems in Anbar, one certainly would hope that we could find a few million dollars to invest.

Marine commanders also have brought in experts from the Agriculture Department to teach them about date farming, the honey industry and wheat, three of the province's agricultural mainstays.

One of the Marines' priorities in al Anbar will be getting a phosphate plant that has been idle since the 2003 invasion up and running, potentially providing hundreds of new jobs. To prepare for that challenge, Gen. Allen toured a major phosphate plant in North Carolina last month.

Other Marine officials have spent November and December visiting electrical and sewage plants in the state to better understand their workings. "We have tested the outer limits of applying a military solution in al Anbar," says Col. Koenig. "We need to make progress in economic development and governance to succeed."

The Marines' focus on economic development in al Anbar reflects the Army and Marine Corps' new counterinsurgency doctrine, which stresses that in such wars 80% of the effort should be along political and economic lines and only 20% should be military.