A common gripe about the media's reporting from Iraq has been that it focuses too much on all that goes wrong - explosions, deaths, mayhem - and not enough on what's going right.

As the media liaison for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is overseeing more than 2,700 reconstruction projects in Iraq valued at $7.2 billion, Lt. Col. Stan Heath has been zeroing in on the news outlets with the audience that cares most about the full picture: Iraqis.

Since the country was liberated from Saddam Hussein's totalitarian rule, a free press has sprouted up that not only reports on the incessant insurgent attacks, but also picks up Lt. Col. Heath's news releases about the Corps' work on water plants, electrical substations, military bases, hospitals, railroad stations and bridges.

"It's really the Iraqis that are very interested in what's going on, what's being built and when will those projects be finished," said Lt. Col. Heath, an Augusta native who has been working out of Baghdad since May 22, his 43rd birthday.

About 500 projects haven't been started yet, and with 25 million people in the country, many of them might not see that the Americans are trying to rebuild, Lt. Col. Heath said. As a spokesman for the Corps, it's his job to get the word out.

With Iraq's economy now opened up, more and more Iraqis are buying refrigerators, air conditioners and television sets, creating a heavy demand for electricity that can be daunting for the Corps to keep up with. Sometimes, though, utilities don't work because saboteurs cut power lines or bomb water-supply stations, and it's Lt. Col. Heath's job to make sure people know that.

The Corps has oversight of the bulk of the reconstruction in Iraq, and much of the work is being subcontracted to Iraqi companies.

Lt. Col. Heath said he also tries to get the word out that jobs are available, in hopes citizens will be moved to pick up a shovel or a hoe rather than an AK-47 or explosives.

"We're hoping that they realize that life will be better for them if they help us rebuild, versus trying to destroy," he said.

"And I'll tell you, we think the Iraqi workers who come into our compounds on a daily basis from up north and down south, we think they're minutemen and minutewomen, because they're really risking their lives.

"They want to make life better for themselves and their families, but clearly there are people out there watching the gates," he said.

Hamid Alkifaey, the leader of the Movement for a Democratic Society in Iraq, said there is an "unholy alliance" between Baath party remnants, angry Sunnis and extremists from outside countries such as Saudi Arabia and Syria, who are working hard to foil democracy. The message that Americans are trying to rebuild could be delivered by television news, but TVs don't work without electricity, Mr. Alkifaey said.

"Many people believe that the Americans can do miracles, and cannot understand why there is no security, no electricity, no services and so on," Mr. Alkifaey said in an e-mail. "Many people do not believe the Americans when they say they are there to help Iraqis. ... People believe the message when they see there is a difference in their lives, and this has not happened."

Although Lt. Col. Heath has worked with reporters from CNN, Fox News and The New York Times, he said he's had more success getting his message out in Iraqi newspapers such as Al Sabah, Al Taakhi and Addustour, and on Al Iraqia TV and the U.S.-sponsored Al Hurra satellite channel.

Every Sunday, he arranges for an Iraqi newspaper, television station or radio station to interview his commander, Brig. Gen. William H. McCoy Jr.

He has an Iraqi ex-journalist and an Iraqi cultural adviser on his staff to help translate Arabic for him and help him understand the needs of Iraqi media. Like other reporters, they want to have stories first, but they generally don't put their names on columns that ridicule insurgents or discuss reconstruction, Lt. Col. Heath said.

When he sends them news releases, he doesn't list the districts or towns where projects are under way, lest they be targeted by bombers.

"It's not like the Marshall Plan," Lt. Col. Heath said, referring to the rebuilding of Europe after World War II. "We're doing this while we're still fighting this counterinsurgency battle, fighting against these saboteurs and these insurgents. It's a tough mission. Let there be no mistake about that."

Reach Johnny Edwards at (706) 823-3225 or johnny.edwards@augustachronicle.com.