[Lin:] In the "Spotlight," making amends in Iraq. American troops back in control of Samarra are packing more than weapons as they patrol city streets. They are carrying bags full of cold, hard cash to give to people who suffered during the recent fighting. CNN's Jane Arraf followed one task force to find out whether it can buy good will for the American-led war and cause.
[Unidentified Male:] Get some of these radios and...
[Jane Arraf, Cnn Baghdad Bureau Chief:] After the fighting in Samarra, a more complicated battle begins. To get across their message that the U.S. wants to help rebuild Samarra, these troops from the 1st Infantry Division are handing out radios...
[Unidentified Male:] That's the frequency right there.
[Arraf:] ... tuned to a coalition channel that's a mix of music and public service announcements. One of them tells Iraqis where they can go to file claims with the military for losses and damage. A week ago, U.S. troops were being shot at from these alleys. Now they're venturing down the same narrow streets taking compensation to the people. Captain George Rodriguez from the 2nd Battalion 108th Infantry inspects a barber shop that's been hit by gunfire.
[Capt. George Rodriguez, U.s. Army:] I'll give you $750.
[Arraf:] His offer of $750, though, is rejected. The air conditioner alone costs $500, the owner tells him. They settle on $850 in U.S. cash.
[Rodriguez:] $200, $300...
[Arraf:] This woman got $60 for a broken window. It was worth more, she says, but she was too embarrassed to haggle. Her son was killed by insurgents last year, she says, and although she's still afraid, she says she's less so with U.S. forces in town. [on camera]: A week after the battle, a lot of these jobs are still littered with broken glass. It's one of the Army's main priorities now, repairing some of the damage and trying to restore some good will. [voice-over]: It's not an easy task in this historic city. "Don't think it's a happy picture. Everyone is bitter. They need time to forget this tragedy," Sheikh Sajid Abed Al-Hussein tells us.
[Gen. George Casey, U.s. Army:] You and your soldiers are the future of Iraq.
[Arraf:] The top U.S. military official in Iraq, General George Casey, landed in Samarra to congratulate troops on what could be a model for overcoming the insurgency.
[Casey:] What we're seeing is that the Iraqis just need to have the freedom to get on with the reconstruction, and we're seeing that in those cities, and, hopefully, we'll see it soon in many others.
[Arraf:] But near one of Shia Islam's holiest sites, an Imam complains that U.S. forces have arrested some of his employees and confiscated their weapons. "They'd never had any problems with insurgents at the mosques," he says, but he shakes hands with the general anyway.
[Casey:] Everything will be fine.
[Unidentified Male:] Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you.
[Arraf:] In other parts of town, the military is busy putting townspeople to work, cleaning trash and repairing power lines. Back at the mosque where some of the heaviest fighting took place, Iraqis watch to see what the U.S. presence will bring this time. Jane Arraf, CNN, Samarra.