Exuberant Crowd's Most Urgent Request: Water
In the giddy spirit of the day, nothing could quite top the wish list bellowed out by one man in the throng of people greeting American troops from the 101st Airborne Division who marched into town today.

What, the man was asked, did he hope to see now that the Baath Party had been driven from power in his town? What would the Americans bring?

"Democracy," the man said, his voice rising to lift each word to greater prominence. "Whiskey. And sexy!"

Around him, the crowd roared its approval. Yet when the first round of welcomes to American soldiers and journalists were exuberantly, even affectionately completed, the people in the crowd had a more urgent request than liquor. They wanted water.

There has been none in this town for four days. Again and again, people pointed to the sky, tilted their heads back and pointed to their open mouths. A boy, age about 6 or 7, approached an American reporter and said the two words that were uttered over and over: "America. Good." Then he kissed the reporter on the cheek, shook his hand and pointed to the sky, pleading for water.

Neither soldiers nor reporters had water for the town. The infrastructure has been brought down by nearly a week of battles in and around the town. For now, there is no short-term prospect for any relief, although military officials note that the town's landing strip could easily accommodate C-130 cargo planes.

The Shiite Muslim population of the town, long oppressed by the Baath, poured out of their homes on Tuesday with tips about weapons hiding places and training grounds. The Shiites seemed mildly to wildly grateful for the presence of the Americans, but were curious about what it will amount to. So, too, was one American military official, who said he wondered how he would know when he was done in Najaf.

Kase, an Iraqi civil engineer who would not give his last name, was part of a crowd that gathered outside a former ammunition center for the Baath Party. "Will you stay?" he asked.

Most of the troops from the 101st will not be staying, at least after the last of the paramilitary fighters has been routed or driven into hiding. The American soldiers will be moving north to assist in seizing territory around Baghdad, and perhaps going into the capital. A contingent of Special Forces troops will remain here, but to support some other civil authority, not to run the town.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/03/international/worldspecial/03AIRB.html