Christian Isely, MS 03
Baghdad, Iraq
Baghdad Dispatch #16
September 10, 2004
The third anniversary of September 11th is tomorrow.
What change three years has brought both for the good and for the bad! Both successes and mistakes.
It was three years ago that I decided to join the fight to prevent such a catastrophe from happening again. That fight is still very much underway and I am now in the middle of it.
I've been back in Baghdad now for just over a week. I returned from Greece safe and sound. Having gone on my first R&R leave, I came back extremely refreshed and with a new burst of energy to come back into the game here in Iraq. My role is now changing. I am taking more financial duties and will be helping to track the finances of our ongoing projects. New tasks, new responsibilities. I am very excited. However, I am still doing some PR work and I include the following link to highlight a piece I wrote on the Transportation/Communications Sector for the PCO website:
http://www.rebuilding-iraq.net/portal/page?_pageid=35,65090&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
As I've discovered, occasional trips out of country for rest and recuperation are extremely vital in order to keep one's focus. Greece was perfect in every way. I met up with some of my closest friends and was able to wind down. I was also able to gain some perspective on what is happening around me and what I am doing. When I was traveling around Greece meeting people here and there, the topic of my profession naturally surfaced and when I told them what I do and where I live, most people expressed a great deal of curiosity. It was also great to be back in a place where I did not have to worry about the dangers of everyday life in the International Zone. I must also say that Greece is an excellent place to take a vacation. In the end, the criticism leveled on them with regard to the chaotic planning and security for the Olympics proved overstated. They pulled the Olympics off magnificently and Athens is all the better for it. (The city now has a new airport, highways, and very efficient metro system!) Greeks in general, are very friendly and most speak English. A good amount speak at least three languages. Then there are the beaches, seafood, and islands! I could go on without ever stopping... I will be back!
As for the situation here in Iraq, it is very difficult to tell whether the situation is deteriorating, improving, or remaining very much the same. At this point, some major cities are outside the control of both US and Iraqi government forces. Samarra, Fallujah, and Ramadi are no-go zones and apparently, Fallujah is being run by a very conservative theocracy. How reconstruction is supposed to occur in these places is up in the air. The military commanders are trying to use reconstruction aid as a carrot to induce these cities to come under either US or Iraqi governmental control.
The flip side is that many Iraqis will remain without work as long as projects are not funded. Where will they go then? Will they stay in the militias?
When I was away, Sadr vacated the Ali Shrine in Najaf. (The holiest site in Shiite Islam apart from Mecca ). That was an improvement. However, he was allowed to keep his militia, the Mehdi Army, intact. These are some of the very same people that establish checkpoints in Baghdad and harass our people on their way to work. As long as Sadr has an armed militia, he will continue to be a problem and a threat to the fledgling government. I do believe that in the end, he would eventually like to become a part of the political process but at what cost to democracy, individual freedom, and the Iraqi minorities? Allowing Sadr to keep his weapons was an admission of weakness both on the part of the Iraqi government and the US. As some parts of the population see the government and the coalition as either unable or unwilling to protect them from the violence of other factions, what will they do? They face the choice of backing the central government or backing the nearest and most powerful local faction. What gets lost in the passionate clamor from some circles for a US withdrawal is the rational choice that many individuals make to side with the insurgents. Without jobs, without protection, they will protect their families as best they may.
What seems to be failing the US now is the political will. There is no doubt that our soldiers are incredibly skilled and equipped. Their performance in Najaf was remarkable. Did we fail at the negotiating table? As perhaps we also did in Fallujah? Did we play any role at all in the negotiations? Why, after such a tough fight, was Sadr let off the hook? These are questions that many Iraqis are asking. Will they therefore maintain faith in the ability of the US to establish peace and prosperity in the country?
Christian