Picture, if you will, an occupying force arming locals not as conscripts but as part of training them to one day protect their country themselves:

After being trained by the 4th Infantry Division, 31 Iraqi Civil Defense Corps militiamen walked side by side, their AK-47 rifles ready, with U.S. soldiers, greeting townsfolk and the occasional shopkeeper.

Most shops were closed Friday, the Muslim holy day and the day Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld flew to Tikrit to meet American troops and be briefed by commanders. For the visit, the Iraqi militiamen redirected traffic from the main highway as a security precaution.

But more importantly, the Iraqi militia - known as the Tikrit Patrol - made its presence known to residents.

"People are happy to see us," said Joseph Musaad, 24, one of the militiamen. "We speak Arabic to them. We greet them with salaam aleikum (peace be upon you)."

Editor's note: empires do not do this.