Soccer Offensive in Iraq

MULTAKA, Iraq, June 20, 2008— -- There's a new battlefield for American soldiers in Iraq: the soccer field. And some of their opponents are probably the same guys that were shooting at them last year.

It's all part of a campaign to change the perceptions Iraqis have of Americans and win their support.

Two weeks ago, soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division started to play a series of soccer matches against local teams in the villages of Kirkuk province, northern Iraq.

Battalion commander Lt. Col. Christopher Venek called it a "different approach." He told ABC News that by removing their body armor and competing on the field, U.S. soldiers hoped to be seen by Iraqis "as fellow human beings. ... Otherwise, the people never see you as anything but a soldier."

On the day the American team played in the village of Multaka, Mayor Abu Saif said the strategy was working.

"It strengthens the relations between us and the coalition forces," he told ABC News.

Many of the players on the Iraqi teams are made up of members of Sons of Iraq, a group composed of former insurgents. More than 200 have successfully joined the reconciliation program since it began in the area last January.

The soccer games are being played in the Hawijah district, an area that was once a hotbed of insurgency.