BAGHDAD (AP) -— In a dimly lit room brightened by dusty plastic flowers, the U.S. officer showed up with small gifts for the Iraqi major. After pleasantries, the American got down to business — reviewing security preparations for elections.

“I recommend that you examine and search the polling centers before you move in,” said Capt. Nathan Williams, 28, of the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment based at Fort Riley, Kan.
Still, he said, “This is a well-organized plan. I applaud you for doing this.”
Iraqi forces ran the show during the Jan. 31 provincial elections, which went off without major violence.
But the U.S. military played a crucial, behind-the-scenes support role, helping Iraqis who were stretched to the limit by the nationwide poll.
It's an example of how the U.S. mission in Iraq has evolved during the last six years. At first the Americans were an invading army. Then they battled an insurgency. Now they're mainly mentors and peacekeepers as the Iraqis take responsibility for their own country.
The new slogans: train, partner, advise and enable.
If all goes well, this will be the final stage of the U.S. mission in Iraq, with American troops working to ensure that Iraq's security forces are prepared to maintain security when the last American soldier has gone home.
The recent election served as a test-case for the strategy. U.S. troops played the roles of diplomats, teachers and security experts — while carefully balancing the need for safety with Iraqi ways of doing things.
Capt. Williams commands an infantry company housed in a Saddam Hussein-era bomb shelter in the once turbulent neighborhood of Hurriyah in northern Baghdad.
With the gunmen gone from the streets, Williams, a native of Raleigh, N.C., focuses on working with his Iraqi counterparts. He's giving them a crash course in how to fight, manage supplies and maintain discipline all by themselves.
The task at hand was to make sure the elections went smoothly — without car bombs and suicide attackers trying to disrupt the voting.
Three days before the balloting, Williams arrived at a local Iraqi army post with gifts for the Iraqi major: a diary in military camouflage colors and laminated photographs of the two men smiling next to each other.
“This should tide you over until I get you a proper present,” Williams told the Iraqi officer, Imad Rassoul.
Williams explained to a reporter that he enjoys giving small gifts “because it shows that we care about the relationships ... and appreciate what they do.”
Rassoul, mustachioed and built like a boxer, smiled: “I will cherish your gifts.”
A single light bulb powered by a car battery illuminated the room — testament to Baghdad's continuing electricity outages. Plastic flowers covered by a thin coat of dust stood atop the desk of an overweight Iraqi soldier operating the unit's radio.
As Iraqi soldiers drifted in and out, Williams and Rassoul turned to the day's business: how to guard the more than 50 polling stations in Hurriyah.
“These elections are important,” Rassoul said. “It is a new birth for Iraq.”
The next day, however, Williams was growing increasingly anxious about Iraqi preparations.
He had sent platoon Sgt. John Bissen of Sturgeon Bay, Wis., to tour Hurriyah. Bissen handed out flyers at Iraqi checkpoints warning that al-Qaeda in Iraq wanted to disrupt the election by sending female suicide bombers out among voters.
Williams was worried that razor wire still hadn't been placed outside polling centers to control the movement of voters as they come in and out. He said he wanted the wire in place well in advance so there would be time to make adjustments if needed before the vote.
Williams kept his frustrations to himself as he met two days before the vote with Iraqi Army 1st Lt. Hussein Mahmoud and police Capt. Moayed Jamal.
Maj. Hussein Adhab Salman, who commands an Iraqi Army battalion in charge of Hurriyah, joined the meeting later.
Williams expressed his concerns but was careful not to sound like he was running the show. Doing so would rankle Iraqi sensitivities and could backfire.
He calmly explained that the key to security on election day was to inspect and remove all cars from the areas around polling centers. Large crowds must not form because they could tempt suicide bombers to strike.
“Inshallah (God willing), the election will pass without incident,” said Lt. Mahmoud, who moved to the edge of his seat, stretched and yawned.
Jamal, the police captain, had a few things to ask of Williams. Policemen guarding the voting centers may not have enough food because stores would be closed on election day.
“Families around polling centers often offer food and water, but they will be short of that too,” he said.
Williams promised to try to help.
“We would like you to intensify your patrols because there will be a security vacuum on election day,” Jamal said. “Our resources are limited. We must economize with fuel because we don't have much.”
Williams assured him that he would put every man available on the street.
Two days later, the polls opened in Hurriyah. By sundown the voting was over. There had been no attacks.