Interact with the locals more, find out who the bad guys are - but more importantly, protect the population, separate them from the insurgents.

NPR: Army Gen. Abizaid Will Retire in March

An ambitious plan, advanced by Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish council member, is to get the coalition's soldiers out of the business of day-to-day urban administration and security, and to turn it over to Iraqis, who can interact more smoothly with the locals.

ECONOMIST: Life under the coalition