BIDDING WAR

So far, it seems to be working.

Although Iraqis who are seen collaborating with coalition forces are risking their lives, many are taking the chance if there is a payout.

For example, units are offering $100 for information on the location of a homemade explosive device. Attackers have planted bombs on the sides of roads and in the median, using remote detonators to set them off as American military convoys pass.

Someone who comes in with information on someone who has a large stock of weapons will get $200. Information leading to the capture of a person who planned to attack coalition forces will be awarded $500. That is more than what most Iraqis make in an entire year.

Of course, a tip that leads U.S. forces to Saddam will bring in a cool $25 million. The U.S. government has already paid the man who tipped coalition forces to the whereabouts of Saddam’s sons Odai and Qusai, who were killed by U.S. forces in a gunbattle July 22 in Mosul.

Military intelligence officers suspect that foreigners are in Iraq paying Iraqis anywhere from $50 to $500 to kill coalition forces. By offering cash for information, commanders are hoping to put those financing the attacks out of business. Essentially, they want to outbid the terrorists who are recruiting locals.

“We’re trying to counter that with the rewards for info,” Elsen said.

Money isn’t the only incentive to get Iraqis to cooperate.

A few soldiers have also found creative ways to get Iraqis to turn over weapons and rocket-propelled grenades. Some troops have traded pistols and pinups of near-naked American models to get weapons.