Somewhere in Iraq in the early days of US attacks, a group of soldiers went to a local mosque to ask assistance for distribution of supplies to the people in that village. Not knowing of the soldiers’ intention, a mass of people gathered and intended to defend their sacred building and protect their spiritual leaders. Yelling and waving their hands in the air, the villagers then circled the soldiers from several angles. The atmosphere was so tense. One single provocative act might pull the trigger from the soldiers’ automatic rifles and start the killing of unarmed villagers. Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Hughes reacted in an instant. Unexpectedly, he took the megaphone and calmly said to his men, ‘Soldiers, on your knee.’ That means the soldiers had to kneel on one knee. He shouted at his men to point their rifles to the ground. Then, came that order, ‘Now, smile.’ At this point the tension went down. Some people were still yelling but most of them smiled back at the soldiers. They came closer to the soldiers and even patted their back gently as the US army retreated slowly with smile on their faces.
