Officers at the war command heaquarters in As-Saliyah, Qatar acknowledge they have been unable so far to uncover tangible proof that Saddam Hussein did stockpile banned chemical or biological weapons.

Yet, commanders are upbeat about the achievements of the war, which ousted what they say was President Saddam Hussein's vicious dictatorship.

"It occurred to me that people in this country recognize that this has been about liberation and not about occupation," the war's commander, General Tommy Franks, said during a visit to Baghdad this week.

The US-led troops are certain to remain in Iraq for a while, but Franks says their role will be mainly "to provide more stability so a new government, a government chosen by the Iraqi people, can take its place."

When launching the war one month ago, the United States cited the presence of weapons of mass destruction as the main reason for the invasion of Iraq. For top US ally Britain, it was officially the only reason.

While touting the liberation of Iraq, military coalition officials admit the job will not be done until the banned weapons are found and destroyed.

"The liberation of Iraq is almost complete, but we will not have completed our job until we've cleared the country of weapons of mass destruction," Group Captain Al Lockwood, a British military spokesman at Central Command (Centcom), told AFP.

Coalition officials have largely played down the civilian toll, focusing instead on what they say are the beneficial effects of the war.

"With each day that passes, more Iraqis are experiencing freedom and more Iraqis are expressing their desires for a stable and free Iraq," says US Brigadier General Vincent Brooks.

At daily media briefings at the Central Command's war headquarters here, Brooks is increasingly spotlighting humanitarian actions by the troops, who are also helping rebuild infrastructure destroyed in coalition bombing raids.

"Military humanitarian actions and the reconstruction efforts are improving the conditions. More doctors, nurses and health professionals are returning to work every day. Medical supplies and experts are continuing to flow into Iraq.

"They are key to making connection with the population that is now free, and their knowledge of the culture and the areas that they're working in helps to keep our military teams focused and able to show both the energy and the compassion required to make a permanent difference in the lives of the Iraqi people," says Brooks.

"Operation Iraqi Freedom continues."

But even with the big battles over, the operation is encountering snags.

In Mosul, US marines say they were forced to open fire on an unruly and threatening mob Tuesday and again the next day on bank robbers.

Centcom acknowledges seven people were killed on Tuesday and a yet undetermined number the next day, but witnesses put the number of fatalities over the two days at 15, with 28 more wounded.

Also on Tuesday, around 20,000 protesters, most of them Shiite Muslims, rallied in Nasiriyah to denounce US influence in reshaping Iraq, even as opposition leaders and US officials gathered nearby to chart the country's future.

SPACE.WIRE