The Foreign Service Journal, March 2007

The move also shifted security responsibility for guarding Foreign Service members from the dedicated Blackwater PSD to the U.S. military. Once they showed up at the new base, the FS contingent became com- pletely dependent on the military for all life and work support. “We were essentially abandoned by the State Department,” Pope says. FS team members opened Yahoo e-mail accounts in order to reach the State Department, as did FS members of many other PRTs who found themselves similarly disconnected. “In the early days of the PRT, the concept was quite fluid and uncertain,” says a recently returned FSO who served at a PRT and asked not to be identified. “That uncertainty led to quite a bit of confusion as to what our jobs and tasks were. … We all had to work together, and we tried pretty damn hard, but at times it was extremely frustrating. I went from having at least one convoy a day at my disposal to perhaps getting out once a week, when possible.” His reporting dropped accordingly, as it became more difficult to connect with Iraqi contacts. “Despite all these setbacks, and after several months of infighting within the PRT, our civilian and military leaders F O C U S 26 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / M A R C H 2 0 0 7 At a time when news reports from Iraq often paint an unrelenting picture of death and despair, the Babil PRT is oper- ating quietly but effectively to help Iraqis build their future. The team brings together State Department diplomats, specialists from USAID and its partner organizations, a representative of the Department of Justice, a Seabee engi- neer, reservists from a Civil Affairs unit based in Knoxville, Tenn., and a variety of contract personnel, including Ameri- can and Iraqi-born experts in engineering, the rule of law and business. We cooperate closely with the U.S. military, and even share our compound with part of a Special Troops Battalion from the 25th Infantry Division. On any given day, Babil PRT members might be consulting with officials about which irrigation canals need cleaning most urgently, evaluating operations at a water-purification plant, advising a judge on case management and evidence-tracking procedures, reviewing current project status and future prior- ities through a joint Iraqi-U.S. committee, or working on increasing citizen participation in governance. Babil’s economic base is largely agricultural, so earlier this year the PRT gave guidance on what to plant to maximize profits. Corn production in the province tripled compared to 2005; next year’s yields of this and other crops should increase still further, thanks to modern seed cleaners the team is providing. Honey being another money-maker, the PRT helped put the Babil Beekeepers Association in contact with its sister organization in Anbar province, the Sunni region west of Baghdad where the insurgency has been especially deadly, in hopes that Babil’s successful training model can generate employment and income in Anbar. That is not to say that all is sweetness and light here — especially not light, as the citizens of Babil continue to do with- out electricity for well over half of every day. The PRT is overseeing several power transmission projects that will ease the problem, ideally before demand peaks for air conditioning in the summer. During the cold winter months, however, there is little we can do to make up for short supplies and high prices of heating fuels. Whenever we feel sorry for ourselves because of occasional mortar or rocket fire in our direction — resulting only in a handful of non-life-threatening injuries to date in the well-heated and well-lit compound — we put things in perspective by remembering how difficult daily life is for Iraqis “outside the wire.” The chance to make a difference brought PRT members here in the first place and gives us a common purpose. Seeing justice done, helping democracy take root, improving the qual- ity of life of people who have suffered too long — these aims form a tall order. Ultimate success is not a given, especially if the security environment worsens. On its own the Babil PRT will not defeat the terrorists or give everyone electricity 24 hours a day. But while the debate over U.S. policy, troop lev- els and the definition of “civil war” rages on in Washington, this team and others like it are doing their best to bring America and Iraq closer to victory, one modest step at a time. Chuck Hunter (right) with A’ad Hatif Jabr, the chief judge of Babil province, at the groundbreaking ceremony for the federal courthouse that is being con- structed with U.S. funds in Al Hillah. On the Ground in Babil By Chuck Hunter, Team Leader