Compensation
Some people are going to look at this and see it as an example of horrible cynicism and reducing life to a matter of money. One wonders if the L. A. Times author sees it this way too.
In point of fact, this practice has a very strong basis in traditional Iraqi culture, a fact that I didn't see mentioned in the article. It took our troops some time to figure this out (I think the British got the message first), but it has been a common practice since then. No doubt the Marines are being taken to the cleaners by some of the complaints, but the goodwill is probably still worth it.