Memorial Service for a Colleague

A memorial service for Steven L. Farley will be held on September 12, 2008 at 10 a.m. in the Dean Acheson Auditorium of the State Department. Steven L. Farley was killed in the attack in Sadr City, Iraq, on June 24th. His devotion to public service was reflected in his many years of duty in the United States Navy Reserve and in his decision to volunteer to serve in Iraq since April 2007. At the time of his death, Steven was serving on a Baghdad Provincial Reconstruction Team as the Senior Governance Specialist in Sadr City where he was helping the citizens of Iraq rebuild and revitalize their local government. Mr. Farley is survived by his wife, Mrs. Donna Farley, three sons – Brett, Chris and Cameron, and parents Noel and Barbara Farley.

All of us in the Babil PRT honor his service and memory and keep his family in our thoughts. I have sent a Babil PRT coin to his family on behalf of the PRT as a symbol of our respect for Steven.

Changes for the Better Raise Hopes

Well, it's my first entry since arriving back in Hillah two weeks ago. It is surprising that during my almost two months away there have been noticeable changes -- and for the better. There are lots of small changes, but collectively they make for a different picture.

People now are out on the streets at 9 or 10 at night. That contrasts with the situation in the spring: when the sun went down, people went home. Women (albeit a small minority) walk in public without headscarves for the first time in over two years. Young people play pop music loudly outdoors, and less often does one hear religious music. Several new restaurants opened in Hillah this summer.

The local population talks about how they feel more relaxed. While some of the Special Groups fled or were broken up in the province last spring, their capabilities have not been eliminated and the terrorist threat remains. Just over a week ago a female suicide bomber in the northern part of the province killed a dozen persons in Iskandariyah. In June a car bomb went off in front of a Hillah cafe.

The big question now is whether the political system will be able to renew itself at the provincial level by holding elections. This would allow the Sunnis, who are a quarter of the provinces population concentrated in the northern part of the province, to be reintegrated in the political process. The term for the provincial council is to lapse shortly, but the Council of Representatives (parliament) has yet to pass a needed election law. Actually the COR passed a law but it was vetoed by the Presidential Council with the Kurds wanting to link the election law to a resolution of the status of Kirkuk, which Kurds want included in their region. It's a very contentious issue, but there is a wide-spread hope that the COR will pass the law again in early September and it will enter into force. That would allow elections by the end of the year or January.

In what I am told was a coincidence, the Provincial Council announced a boycott of the PRT just a day before my return. I have had fun razzing the PC Chairman and others about this, and am hopeful that the ostensible issue (which isn't for this forum) will get resolved soon.

In an effort to incentivize the PC to lift the boycott, we have informed the PC members that the boycott will probably impede our ability to go forward with numerous projects. The underlying political dynamic, however, is the competition among some political parties, which have lost popularity over the last few years, to show themselves to be Iraqi nationalist -- which in itself is good in the sense that it shows they are thinking in national and not sectarian terms. Unfortunately, the US is used as a foil by some to show their nationalist credentials. Some of the persons who go on the radio to discuss the boycott, are some of our best interlocutors in private. It will take adjustments on both sides (Iraqi and American) to adapt to new roles and expectations as we go through a transition process in which the Coalition role changes and becomes more limited as the Iraqis take on increased responsibilities in all areas, not just security.

Changing topics, yesterday I received my second text message in Arabic and I excitedly took it to my interpreter to translate. Was it a message from the Governor? From the PC Chair? No, it was a mass text message to all cell phone users from the Ministry of Health warning that August is a particularly dangerous month for cholera and urging that I visit the local health clinic.

Speaking of health and medicine, there was a small piece on US TV the other evening about medihoney, a new treatment for burns. It is something I had never heard about until I came to Iraq. One of the military bases in Babil Province has for months run a burn clinic on its doorstep to treat Iraqi burn victims with medihoney. Medihoney derives from a plant in New Zealand and has lots of antioxidants and speeds healing. It looks and smells like honey. Burn victims have been coming from all over Iraq to get treatment, earning the base tremendous good will. They are now working on making it an Iraqi-run program.

Of course, it's hot this time of year- around 120F during the day, but this has been a somewhat mild August by Iraqi standards. We haven't gone over 130F for two weeks, which is just fine with me. I had decided to enroll in the 5K run on Sunday at 6:30am (which laps around our compound), but I pulled a calf muscle on the tread mill this evening and am now hobbling around like an old enfeebled man. I would have been the second oldest to run in the race, but now I'll just watch.

Lots of planning has begun for the new military deployments in the coming months, which will impact on the PRTs, some of which are embedded in brigade headquarters. Fewer military here will make it harder to have more PRT engagement, since we have depended on the military for transportation and security in some locations. It seems that Bob Gates has become one of the strongest advocates for increasing the State Department's budget to allow it to fill the more than one thousand vacancies in already authorized positions. Despite being 10% below world-wide authorized levels, the Foreign Service has filled all the positions in Iraq that will come open in the summer of 2009. Last Fall that process had still not filled all summer 2008 vacancies. Remember the famous Town Hall meeting? What a changed situation this year! Part of the reason is that the Dept this year started the bidding season earlier for Iraq positions, and it is now linking Iraq assignments to an onward assignment. Officers now bidding will also be told about their post-Iraq assignment, rather than having to start bidding after arriving here.

Regards from sunny, sizzling southern Iraq where things are getting better and tomorrow is sure to bring change.

Maine Paradise

It's not easy returning to Iraq!

Timeline of my return after a hiatus in Warsaw, New York, Virginia, Washington DC, and Maine, sharing some special time with family and friends:

Friday, August 9
I made it to Kuwait just fine, although on a slightly longer timeline that I had thought.

The flight from the US, which was scheduled to leave at 5PM, did not depart until 9:54PM, so I had an extra six hours to kill at Dulles. I was able to sleep a good part of the trip, having spent $119 to buy an economy plus seat at the bulkhead. They charge extra now for those seats!

I am ensconced in a lounge at the Crown Plaza for the next 10 hours, and plan to go into the city with a colleague, who used to serve on the Babil PRT.
I have to get up at 3AM to catch the milair flight to Baghdad and then I will be staying in Camp Victory for two days for a conference on civil-military affairs. Then, I'll spend another day in Baghdad doing check in and will be down in Hillah around Aug 15.

August 10 (0400)
Thanks to a traveling contractor, I have a minute on his computer.

I didn't get out of Kuwait today-- missed three planes that broke down or were canceled. Hope to get out on Monday, but may not be able to do so until Tuesday.

My lack of luck with transport seems to have stuck with me for my return to Iraq.

I will probably sleep in a tent this evening here at the Ali Al Salem Air Base in the desert, unless we luck out and get on a flight today by some miracle.

August 11
I am still in Kuwait. Woke up at 4:30am and took a shower.

Yesterday afternoon we sat in the C-130 on the runway and had all four engines started, when one overheated (the temperature outside was 130F) and the mission was canceled.

I will find out this morning if I can get on a plane today, but it looks doubtful. Am told I have a spot on Tuesday's plane, which would get me to Baghdad for the end of the conference. (I had left two days early so as to be able to attend. )

We were also supposed to fly out last night but the mission was canceled. It appears that a lot of planes have been diverted to move the Georgian troops in Iraq back to Georgia.

Time (5:30am) to go to breakfast

August 12 (0130)
Am flying to Baghdad in another two hours -- without my suitcase, which was lost? misplaced? in transit.

August 13 (1600)
I am now in Baghdad.

I need to check what I have down in Hillah. The conference just ended today and I am waiting to hear about when I can get a flight down. The new Division (10th Mtn) that replaced 3rd ID has fewer helos and does not make the same regular runs to Hillah. So, I don't know when I will get a flight down.

The weather code is now red for weather (dust) and the helos won't fly in this weather.

As they say in Maine, Ye Cahn't Gi' Thar Frahm Heer...

Well, it looked like we were going to fly out of here this morning, but the military cancelled our plane to meet other requirements. That left 70 Chief-of-Mission personnel (non-military) for the second day in a row scrambling to change their onward travel plans. After finding out about our situation , the Embassy is trying to get us a plane. These flights are contracted by the State Dept to move COM personnel personnel in and out of Baghdad, but the military diverted the aircraft for a higher priority -- something that is rarely done. Its tough on the morale of those who are hoping to begin R&R or are ending their tour and have travel commitments. We are all hoping that the Embassy is able to resolve the problem and that we'll be able to fly out soon. We have apparently set a record for staying the longest in this transient compound (Sully) of any group in recent memory trying to fly out. If we don't fly out tomorrow, we have been told the whole mission may be scrubbed, and we will be sent back to the IZ to start over again the process of booking new milair reservations. At that point, it would be doubtful that I would make it back to Warsaw in time for the June 14 good-bye barbeque or perhaps even for our flight to the US on June 17. One has to book a milair reservation more than four days in advance notice and the flights often fill up several weeks in advance. Sorry for the bad news, and to leave the family with so much uncertainty. We may have word this evening about a flight tomorrow. Inshallah.

Maybe onwards to Warsaw...

The skies are clearer, although there is still some wind, which picks up the dust.

We have a flight scheduled to leave here late this morning, so by mid-afternoon I should be in Amman. I don't think I'll have time to go to the Dead Sea, which is too bad, as I probably won't travel through Amman again. (There is a minimal layover in Kuwait and I can fly direct from there to DC on United with no stopovers, so in the future I plan to go that route. This will give me more of my R&R time actually at home rather than traveling.)

It's not easy leaving Iraq...

Well, the sandstorm forced the cancellation of this morning's flight, which was to have come in from Kuwait and then taken us to Amman. They are planning to resume flights at 1800. Whether we will fly late in the day or have to wait until tomorrow is still not known. If I get out tomorrow, I'll be able to take the Lufthansa flight on June 10.

Maybe onwards to Warsaw...

We made it to Sully compound at Baghdad Int'l Airport (BIAP) just before 3am. We made the trip (about 40 mins) in a large armored bus, called the Rhino, that does shuttle runs between the IZ and BIAP. (Its called the Rhino because, for some at least, it has a similar appearance. I got a room (shared) at Sully and slept for two and one-half hours. Then arose for the 6:30am check-in, when we learned that the flight had been cancelled due to the duststorm. The flight has been rescheduled for the morning of June 11, weather permitting. One guy who rode on the Rhino was relating how he had been stuck at BIAP for four days due to weather. It's not something I like to think about. There isn't much to do here other than read, sleep, watch movies, and do some work on the computer.

Onwards to Warsaw...

The sandstorm here continues to threaten my travel plans. It forced the cancellation of my helo to BIAP (Baghdad International Airport) this afternoon. I'll instead take the Rhino shuttle late tonight to BIAP and then catch a very early Sunday flight to Amman. Let's hope that the dust storm does not cancel the flight to Amman, or at least that I get to travel on Monday. Otherwise, I'll miss the Lufthansa flights to Frankfurt and Warsaw.

When You Get the Urge for Going

The helo that was to have flown me to Baghdad tomorrow (Friday) has been canceled.

That my meetings in the Embassy with various offices get wiped out is not my biggest concern; it's that I now have only one day to make it to BIAP - Baghdad International Airport - that place through which all of us serving in Iraq must pass when arriving or departing.

If you had a whole day anywhere else in the world to make a flight connection, that would seem like more than enough time. Here, however, that's not the case. Some people travel three or four days in advance to hedge against the possibility that their helo flight is canceled for weather or competing priorities. (The flight itself is a big like taking an amusement park ride. The helos bob and weave over the tree tops, never flying in a straight line. If you enjoy those kinds of rides, it's fun; if you are inclined toward motion sickness, this isn't your favorite means of transport.)

But back to the issue on my mind -- getting on that C-130 on Sunday to fly to Amman and then connecting onward to Warsaw. My three months on the ground in Hillah have been rewarding. The job of leading a 40-person PRT comprised of a wide variety of personnel is not awfully different from that of a DCM. The Management and Regional Security Office (RSO) elements in the Hillah Reginal Embassy Office are separate from the PRT, so there is not a unified management structure, and of course the tasks at hand the challenges one faces are not common to an Embassy . . . at least not in a developed and stable country.

In that regard, we were reminded this week about the danger of working here when an EFP hit one of the military vehicles only several hundred meters from our compound. Fortunately no one was killed, but two soldiers were wounded. That it was possible for the terrorists to plant an EFP in such close proximity to an Iraqi Police check point raises concern, of course.

I have just completed going over our personnel and determining when contracts need to be renewed. Fortunately, all of the State Department direct-hire employees (known as 3161s) want to renew their one year contracts. So too do the BBAs -- Bilingual/Bicultural Assistants. These are mostly naturalized Americans, with roots in Iraq or another Middle East country. Without them (and our Locally Engaged Staff (LES)), the PRT's ability to achieve its mission would be severely handicapped.

Today I signed an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the head of the Iraqi Fish Production Society IFPS) through which a PRT-originated project run by an AID contractor (INMA) will provide one million carp fingerlings. The photo below is of the IFPS President and me signing the MOU.

Carpe carp! There are many fish farms in Babil, and they are quite noticeable flying to/from Baghdad, dotting the landscape. The waters of the Euphrates are diverted to fill these man-made fish ponds, which employ lots of folks. Many of the fish farms fell into disuse and disrepair over the last decade as the Iraqi economy declined and as the security situation worsened.

Babil is more secure now, although not enough yet to have the Iraqi Security Forces here assume Provincial Iraqi Control of the security portfolio. With the improved security, we (the USG) are looking to try to catalyze renewed economic activity that will create jobs.

Many of the young men who fall in with insurgents, or help them on a part time basis, do so because it provides an income. If those same young men have constructive alternatives, the lifeline of the terrorists can be choked off. The month of May witnessed the lowest number of US military deaths since the conclusion of the liberation. Overall, acts of violence throughout Iraq are way down. These gains remain fragile, however, and the approaching provincial elections will test whether the political parties are prepared to resist the temptation to engage in traditional (violent) politics. It will not be easy to have a democratic election in a country still in conflict, even if at much reduced levels.

Footnote: At 9:30pm I received a call from the 10th Mtn HQ informing me that I have a helo to the IZ tomorrow. All you have to do is wait a little bit and things change around here -- this time for the better. This may be my last post in Iraq until early August.

Iraq reconstruction.

Barbara suggests to check out The Task Force Marne Transformation Manual for some interesting before-and-after pictures on reconstruction projects in Iraq.

With General Petraeus.

Photo by Staff Sgt. L. J.

Changing of the guard.

Tomorrow early in the morning I fly to Baghdad, or more appropriately to Camp Victory, for the change of command of the Multi-National Division Center-South, which includes Babil Province. Not sure whether I am on the same helicopter as the Governor and the Iraqi Army and Police Commanders. The Tenth Mountain Division is replacing the Third Infantry Division, whose Deputy Commanding General I grew very much to like and with whom I hope to stay in touch.

The other two PRTs (Najaf and Karbala), that had been colocated with us here in Hillah, deployed out to their respective provinces over the last week. This considerably alters the dynamics, reducing the proportion of people located in the REO (Regional Embassy Offices) serving on PRTs.

At this point, we have only two FSOs (Foreign Service Officers) occupying four State Department positions on the PRT. The rest of the PRT are an interesting combination of USAID (one), direct hires, contractors of various kinds, and military personnel on a CA (Civil Affairs) Team and with the Army Corps of Engineers.

Of course, there are LES (Locally Engaged Staff), who are the real core. Just imagine an Embassy in which everyone turns over each year, and all the discontinuity that would create and how much it would increase the value of the local staff.

Well, that is the situation on a PRT or one of the four Regional Embassy Offices, which are located in Basrah, Hillah, Kirkuk and Erbil.

Two key LES will soon depart, having obtained their Special Immigrant Visas to the US. They are very deserving and will soon depart, leaving a big hole that will be very hard to fill. Unlike in the 2003-04 period, when highly educated persons were eager to work on a PRT/REO and there were few other attractive decent paying options, that is no longer the case.

While that is a good-news story for Iraq, as the economy picks up and opportunities grow, it does not make it easier to fill these positions, especially when working for the US can still entail real threats to the life and loved ones of an employee. Those who do choose to work with us, have to have lots of courage on a daily basis.

Bad news and good news...

We were supposed to have lunch with the Babil Governor last Monday, but an IED attack on his motorcade in Baghdad's outskirts and the fall out from that -- one of his bodyguards died from injuries sustained in the attack -- forced him to reschedule. We'll likely meet with him later this week. Our medical personnel in Baghdad and Balad have been working on moving one of the other three to a US medical facility to have a procedure carried out.

Today, several of us from the PRT joined Embassy personnel from Baghdad and the 3rd Infantry Division Deputy Commander traveled to the Euphrates Fish Farm not far from Hillah. The USAID contractor celebrated the completion of a carp fingerling project in which the US is providing the local fish farmers with 6 million fingerlings. These will be distributed in the coming month to the local fish farmers using vouchers.

Army Sgt. Joshua Seymour, with Company A, 411th Civil Affairs Battalion, points to fish surfacing for food as he conducts an assessment of a fish farm in Qarghuli village in Iraq’s Babil province, April 9, 2008. Photo by Army Staff Sgt. Tony M. Lindback, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division

The hope is that this will energize the fish industry. Like in Central/Eastern Europe, carp is very popular here. In fact, it is more expensive than lamb or beef. At the Fish Farm they served baked carp, and I ate some. It was actually rather good, given that I have never much liked carp -- except at Christmas in Central Europe, where it is almost a religious ritual. That reminds me, however, that I forgot to take some Cipro after we returned to the Embassy. This could be my last posting!

Traveling out of Iraq; the meaning of "Iraq"; sandstorms and sandtraps...

My two days (ongoing) of waiting for a helo to take me to Baghdad underscores that traveling here is a bit like gambling: sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you lose. Most people build in a buffer of a few days, if they are traveling from a PRT to Baghdad and then onward for a flight out of the country, so as not to miss reaching their commercial flight.

I know some people who have been stuck in Baghdad for almost a week due to weather or for other reasons. My plan for going back to Warsaw and onward for summer leave is to book a helo ride to Baghdad a few days in advance of my milair flight to Amman, from which I will take a commercial flight to Frankfurt/Warsaw.

If I miss either of the two legs prior to Amman, I will miss my commercial flight. Traveling inside or into/out of Iraq, where the first priority of helos is saving lives and where dust storms regularly prevent all aircraft from flying, can be more risky than flying into Terminal Five at Heathrow. (No offense meant to any Brits, just a measure of comparison.)

Sandstorms in central Iraq have not historically been a big problem, I am told by the locals - unlike Kuwait, for instance, where sandstorms have always been a normal part of the weather. Twenty years ago, there were 3-4 sandstorms a year in Hillah. We have had more than that in the almost two and one-half months I have been here.

We are now, of course, in the midst of a drought, which has parched the earth, especially up north, where it is usually greener. The Hillah and Euphrates rivers are down almost one meter. Still, there is a tremendous amount of water underground.

It is common -- and easier -- to use a bulldozer to reach water than dig a traditional well. They just have to scrape away three or four meters of earth to hit the water table. The desert is speckled with these bull-dozered mounds of earth surrounding pools of water. The locals throw in a pump and irrigate a patch of land around the watering hole and there are these green islands.

In fact, the word Iraq, is similar to the word for artery "irq," which some of the locals claim is a reference to the "underground rivers" that flow through Mesopotamia's heartland. Others claim that the name Iraq comes from Ork -- a coincidental similarity to the bad creatures it the Lord of the Rings. Ork supposedly was derived from Ur, the most ancient city in this part of the world, just a drift downriver.

Prior to March, when the IZ (international zone) started getting shelled regularly, Baghdad was a comparatively nice place to be stuck. There is a movie theater (which I haven't visited) and a large pool area. The food there is comparable to what we get in Hillah, although perhaps a bit better. Life there has became more difficult since March with the nearly daily rocket attacks.

The number of shellings has eased recently, but the recent intense period of attacks resulted in several deaths, including an FSO. Nevertheless, getting to Baghdad is also a chance for consulting with different offices in the Embassy or for making requests -- or delivering on them. When/if I travel there tonight, I have to pick up maps, consult with HR, and of course there is our home office, OPA (Office of Provincial Affairs).

I get to write this journal entry, because I am skipping dinner. I had a large lunch with some visiting Sheiks, who brought with them pictures of Paul Bremer and a previous Regional Coordinator, the precursor in Hillah to the PRT.

The sheiks have a different perspective on the situation, and of course are attuned to the mood and needs of their tribesmen in a way that many elected politicians are not. Tribal loyalties in Iraq today give real meaning to the adage that "blood is thicker than water." And there is an instinctive admiration for a strong leader, which PM Maliki seems to have tapped into. The sheiks almost uniformly applaud Maliki's aim of re-establishing the rule of law and disbanding militias and for having the gumption to take the fight to the Mahdi Army, even while inviting them to take part in the political process. One strongman they did not admire in this part of Iraq was Saddam Hussein. He did little to lift the standard of living in southern or south-central Iraq and he aggressively persecuted the Shia in the wake of the 1991 uprising. Many males from Hillah fled the country around this time.

After an extended talk about this topic and Iran, one of the sheiks today said I needed a robe and traditional headgear to match my beard. My deputy interpreted that as a sign that I can expect to get a robe.

That made me think what it would be like to wear it on my travel through Frankfurt and Warsaw airport and see the reaction of the security officials when I pull out my American diplomatic passport. The ensuing cognitive dissonance might be interesting to observe, but I don't want to risk being yanked off a flight after successfully negotiating the sandstorms and sandtraps of travel inside Iraq.

Polish heroine.

I just received word from Barbara that Irena Sendlerowa died last week. She truly was an inspirational woman, and displayed remarkable bravery in saving many Jews during WWII. I am glad that I had a chance to meet her in my first year in Poland at an awards ceremony that honored her. Each year there are fewer persons who lived through that era. She was a living example that it is possible for ordinary persons to reach inside themselves and do extraordinary things in resisting and persevering against evil. Now she belongs to the history books.

I am still stuck in Hillah...

... waiting for the helicopter that should take me to Baghdad. Three military helo sorties have passed through here but the Embassy-run helos are grounded due to weather. They need clear weather for non-critical missions, and moving personnel around the country for meetings is not a top priority in the bigger scheme of things. If it doesn't pick me up in the next hour, I won't travel until tomorrow.

Am going to Baghdad to attend a discussion in the Embassy on the upcoming provincial elections. A majority of the Sunni parties and also the Sadrist Trend stayed away from the 2005 provincial elections, and thus do not have elected reps on the provincial council. The Sunnis are set to run candidates, but it is not yet clear -- with only two weeks left for the registration process -- whether the Sadrists will participate or boycott.

A few days ago I obtained the release of a Sadrist detainee. We turned over the Sadrist to a sympathizer who sits on the Provincial Council and had to sign a guarantor's statement. The aim is to engage the Sadrists in a dialogue and to promote reconciliation. We have not had a dialogue with the ST in this province up till now. We are hoping that the word gets out about the release.

My helo to Baghdad tomorrow should fortunately leave in the early morning, so I will be able to avoid the highest temps of the day, which will be over 100F tomorrow.

I much prefer cold to heat, and I don't find myself changing my view. If anything a year here may reinforce it.

I am struck at how beautiful the moon is here, apparently due to the lack of humidity. One can really see a lot of detail in the seas of the moon. The dry air does not bend the light rays. There is also less ambient light from cities, especially this time of year.

There are now only a couple of hours of electricity each day in Babil and most neighboring provinces. Just two months ago it averaged eight hours per day of electricity. The demand for electricity, of course, goes up significantly with the hot weather, so two hours of voltage this time of year is the equivalent of 6 or 8 hours several months ago when air conditioning was not being used.

Meeting this week with Babil Chief Justice together with departing 3ID General and his replacement, along with other Babil judges.

Recent release of a detainee at the initiative of the PRT to promote political reconciliation with Sadrist Trend. In the background is a recreation of the famous Ishtar Gate -- original in a Berlin Museum.

This one was taken two weeks ago. From left to right: PRT Rule of Law Advisor, me, Chief of Babil Amnesty Commission, another judge and a PRT employee.

Golfing in Iraq, antiquities, logos and other miscellanea.

I have not been writing recently...

There's a fun piece on golf in Baghdad. I walked with a good friend and colleague, Ed, next to this course, which isn't nearly as nice as it sounds in the article! A couple of excerpts:

Photo by Petr David Josek, Associated Press of Bradley Brooks, author of the article

... My first swing off the first tee was smooth and the ball sailed straight and true.

For a brief moment I forgot where I was. ...

One recent afternoon -- squeezed in between sandstorms and incoming mortar rounds -- a colleague and I hit the links. We dubbed it the Baghdad Open. ...

The course "is the sole entertainment that we have here in Iraq"...

I was in Baghdad yesterday for a quick meeting to talk about Sadrists. Each province has a different situation, and of course Baghdad has the most violence. The IZ has been hit by rockets or mortars almost every day for more than one month.

The process for registering political parties and candidates has begun, although an electoral law has not yet been passed by the Council of Representatives (Parliament). There is a lot riding on the outcome: from political reconciliation and further federalization to reconstruction and corruption. All these things are sure to be impacted by the vote that hopefully will take place in the Fall.

A UNESCO-mandated report by International Investigation Committee of Archaeologists is expected to release a report on the Babylonian site, which has been closed since allegations were made about damages done by coalition forces. We and the Poles had forces located at the site at different times between 2003 and 2006. (There is currently a Babylon exhibition at the Louvre
Attempts by the Louvre to get Iraq to loan it some treasures were thwarted by security issues.)

I'll send some photos of a recent visit to the Babylonian ruins and Saddam's Palace, that he built atop an artificial Hill on the banks of the Euphrates.

The Lion of Babylon is very famous but it is also a statue that conveys mixed feelings for the local citizens, as we discovered when looking for a logo for the Babil PRT.

We now have a Ninevan figure on our crest. Nineva, however, is a province up north with no connection to this province of Babil/Babylon.) We ruled out the Tower of Babel as an option -- not a positive message. The local Iraqis said that the Lion of Babel was actually created by the Assyrian conquerors of Babylon and placed facing eastward toward the Persians to shown them what they could expect if they invaded, i.e., have a lion standing over them. I liked the second part of that message, but the symbol is one of a conqueror for some of our employees, so it seems that the figure of Hammurabi being given the code of laws is the winner.

There are several lawyers on our PRT who are pleased with the outcome. It is, of course, reassuring to know that lawyers can aspire to upward mobility and service on PRTs in Iraq!
In all seriousness, rule of law issues here are rather important. Tomorrow, I should have some interesting news to report. Until then . . .

Weapons.

See photos of many weapons seized (by the Iraqis) from a truck in Babil a few days ago -- mortars, IED and EFP components.

This comes from a media website and is unclassified: http://www.alforattv.net/index.php?show=news&action=article&id=20565

Horrible mistakes.

The following is an edited version of Kenneth's message to a friend that I (Barbara) am including in Kenneth's blog, because I found it most relevant as to what Kenneth and others are faced with.

A couple of weeks ago, Kenneth was headed out to go meet with the staff of a hospital that we accidentally rocketed five days earlier. Kenneth reported that

"unlike the criminal insurgent groups who purposefully seek to injure civilians, we try hard not to do so, but sometimes mistakes are made. This time we killed four Iraqi policemen in the process. Very tragic, and of course in the current context of high emotions amidst escalated fighting, very capable of stirring emotions. Within less than one week, however, the US military will have made condolence payments to the families and we are making plans to cover the cost of repairs. The US has a good track record in dealing with this kind of problem.

It was a long and tiring day. In addition to meeting with all the hospital reps, I was asked to address the Provincial Council on the same issue and there was an emotional (for them) Q and A session."

Kenneth wrote the above wondering if he would return, and because he wanted to have it noted.

Posted by Barbara Dillon Hillas

I was complaining about the lack of a dry cleaner...

... here on the compound . . . . until I learned today (April 18) what happened in Baghdad. Due to recent activities in the IZ (international zone), clothing dropped off from 21 thru 31 March at the Embassy's laundry department was not returned from the vendor. The Embassy has tried to contact the vendor in order to have the clothing returned, but so far has not been successful , although it has not given up hope on retrieving the clothing in another week.

Moving on...

Barbara "emotes" about moving yet one more time...

Hope and Humans - an update.

We got the little girl to Baghdad late yesterday, to be assessed and stabilized. Our good friend and world-renowned Czech spinal surgeon has been very helpful, and he contacted another spinal surgeon in Kuwait with whom we will try to work to have this little girl sponsored for
surgery there. I am working on getting her to either the UK or Kuwait.

Hope and Humans.

Written yesterday:

I thought of Adriana today.

I was contacted in the morning by the head of the Hillah doctors' association about helping a 13-year old Iraqi girl who was involved in a road accident and is now paralyzed. Without urgent medical attention, her prognosis is that she will suffer permanent paralysis and be a quadriplegic. Adequate medical care is not available in Hillah nor, it turned out, even in Baghdad. Those hospitals don't have the a surgical capabilities to deal with the spinal fractures she suffered.

We in the PRT were grounded today in anticipation that there might have been a resurgence of violence. Last evening Moqtada al-Sadr called off today's planned Million Man March on Baghdad, and some people were expecting the south-central provinces to be the stage for Sadr's followers to take to the streets. That left PRT staff with no outside activities scheduled. That was fortunate, because when I learned about this case, I asked my staff to start working on getting the young girl to Baghdad, not knowing then that even Baghdad did not have the required facilities. Well, everyone from the security offices in Hillah and Baghdad and a major contractor's physician's assistant in Hillah, to the Locally Engaged Staff, contract employees, FSOs (Foreign Service Officers) and the Third Infantry Division staff, all got behind the effort throughout the day. You would have thought that I put up the Hope Diamond as a prize!

After lots of hard work through the course of the day all the elements seemed to come together. I signed off on a memo this evening to the Chargé to have a formal request made so that this little girl will fly out of our compound tomorrow to a U.S. military medical facility north of Baghdad. Tragically, her Mom died today of injuries sustained in the same road accident. There are a few poignant ironies in all of this which give our help extra meaning, but that will have to await another day.

On reflection, it became apparent to me why so many people threw themselves into this effort with such gusto -- arranging in one day a medical helo, translating, scanning and transmitting medical records, working the phones, getting approvals, coordinating with the Hillah hospital and the family, arranging for ambulance transport, arranging for an accompanying nurse -- a PRT Civil Affairs officer who also has a teenage girl back in the US -- and lining up some media coverage. (After all, if we are going to do all this for a 13-year old girl, for whom the USG has no responsibility, there is no reason to keep that news under a rock.)

The reason for this humanitarian surge, perhaps, is that amidst all the death and destruction and occasional despair in and around our little corner of Iraq, the chance to save a little girl from permanent paralysis gave everyone a sense of promise and purpose. It is the antidote of hope to the horrors of war, and it just made everyone feel good. Between 6-7am Thursday morning we should know if we have a green light, and when that little girl flies out of here, she'll carry with her the hopes of more people than she'll ever know.