"You get good receptions and you get false receptions where they smile, but in their mind, they are saying 'up yours'. It's in their eyes in the big crowds," Corporal Stephen Dupont commented Tuesday at the end of a two-hour patrol of a neighborhood on the eastern bank of the Tigris river.

Since taking control of Baghdad last week from Saddam Hussein, marines have begun neighborhood patrols to assert authority and promote stability in the city.

A platoon from 1st Battalion 5th Regiment's Bravo infantry company marched down the streets Tuesday to greetings from kids on bicycles who asked for the marines' autographs and professed their love of pop singer Britney Spears.

However, the previous day, a few men had heckled the same platoon on patrol, shouting "Yankees go home" and "We love Saddam (Hussein)."

Over the weekend, a marine was gunned down by a Saddam supporter hidden in the crowd as his unit patrolled the streets.

Even when Iraqis help the marines, it does not mean they are best friends.

During Tuesday's patrol, Ahmed Mohammed Anwar, 17, made clear he was not in love with the United States even as he led marines to boxes of rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) stashed in a yard behind three empty yellow-brick buildings.

"All of the city is finished because of America and Saddam. They need to rebuild Iraq," the teenager said.

Toy store owner Ahmed Singreh, 30, who shut his shop when the war began last month, said he was glad the marines were here but warned patrols were not getting the job done when it came to the past week's looting that devastated parts of Baghdad and other cities.

"It's very good having soldiers here, but I want some government. I want the law. There is no law now. Any thief can steal from me and I can't do anything."

Many of the troops find themselves bombarded with requests from Iraqis that they are unable to meet.

"All they ask about is when electricity and water are going to come back on," said Lance Corporal Rodney Carter, 23.

He can only give general answers like "soon" and tell them "We're here to make life better. We're your friends."

Carter, a soft-spoken man, finds himself unable to win over the angry faces in the crowd. "Some of them don't understand. They think it's our fault," he said.

As they patrol residential areas, the marines also risk being drawn into neighborhood feuds. Late Monday, a lady told Bravo company her neighbour was hiding weapons. After a thorough search, they found the charges to be false.

"It was a neighborhood spat," said Lieutenant David Denial. "Right now the best way for people to get back at each other is to tell us their neighbour is a terrorist."

Nonetheless, Denial believes the patrols are effective. He says they have resulted in mass round-ups of RPGs, small arms and ammunition hidden by Saddam.

"We're out here to make contact with the Iraqis, whether they're friends or enemies," Denial insisted.

SPACE.WIRE