AR RAMADI, Iraq -- Marines with Company A, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, engaged insurgents during a patrol through the city here April 11.It wasn’t a firefight, however. The Marines used words instead of M-16’s to fight their enemy during the three-hour patrol.“Our mission is to find and identify all anti-coalition and pro-insurgency propaganda painted on the walls along the streets that we’re patrolling here,” said Navy Lt. Mike A. Quaresimo, the information officer with Headquarters and Service Company. “We’re replacing it with positive propaganda by spray painting our message over it.”The 32-year-old from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., explained insurgents are writing graffiti messages on walls throughout the city that promote terrorism. “Insurgents are trying to influence the local Iraqis with their propaganda,” he added.With help from Lance Cpl. Manuel Valle Jr., a team leader with 2nd Squad, and other Marines with 1st Platoon, providing security, Quaresimo walked the streets armed with aerosol cans and stencils searching and destroying the insurgents’ messages. Valle, who’s in Iraq for a third time supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom, and his fellow Marines went ahead of Quaresimo to ensure his route was clear of threats so he could safely accomplish his mission of countering insurgent propaganda. An interpreter accompanied Quaresimo to help him determine what writings were from the insurgency. He also posted pro-Iraqi Security Force fliers on light poles and walls during the war on words.“We want the Iraqi people to know there is a viable alternative to the terrorists,” he said while stenciling 1st Battalion, 5th Marines’ motto, “Peace brings prosperity,” in green paint on a wall. “We’re informing the Iraqis that we’re offering peace and prosperity. We want them to have stability and security; the insurgents are promoting instability and destruction. The Iraqi people have a choice, and they need to know they do. That’s what we’re hoping to accomplish.”Quaresimo posted more than 20 pro-ISF fliers and stenciled numerous positive and anti-insurgent messages on walls in a section of the city here. When their mission was accomplished, he and Marines with 1st Platoon, Company A, safely returned to their base at Camp Hurricane Point.“The Iraqi people can become more prosperous,” Quaresimo said. “We are here to help them, and that’s the message we want to get across.”