FIRST PERSON PERSPECTIVE: ON THE SITUATION IN BAGHDAD.

The 1st Brigade sector in Baghdad is east of the Tigris river. We sometime refer to it as East LA. There are 5 million people in Baghdad. 1.2 million of them are in our central sector. On our northeast flank is the 2d Light Cavalry Regiment out of Fort Polk, LA, essentially another brigade attached to the 1AD. They own the 72 square block area of Tharwa, formerly known as Saddam City, also referred to as The Warsaw Ghetto or sometimes simply “Looter City”. There are 2.3 million people there. Poverty, squalor. Saddam just kicked these folks to the curb.

When we arrived there was garbage four feet deep in most every street in our area. But that is gone now. And your soldiers helped make that happen…and your soldiers helped the Iraqi people make that happen.

You have to understand that the average Iraqi has NO initiative. Why? Because for 35 years the system was designed to stifle initiative. For 35 years they were told what to do and brutally punished for any deviation from the Ba’ath party direction. You can’t believe what a wonderful sight it is to see the rebirth of self sufficiency that is coming as a result of freedom from oppression.

Some folks don’t understand how they can still read reports about power not being fully restored in Baghdad. Well, you have to understand some things. The first is the infrastructure there is ancient and decrepit. Saddam Hussein had no interest in projects that would divert money from his concept of grandeur for himself. The poor guy was down to only 90 palaces or so when we came knocking…Anyway, it takes time to rebuild the infrastructure, and as we do, we hire Iraqi’s, many of them former soldiers, to guard the sites. (They seem perfectly content to work for a wage of about $2.50 per day.) We hire the guards because as soon as we get something fixed, the looters will come and dismantle it again.

The second is that 20 percent of Iraq’s population lives in Baghdad. But prior to the war Baghdad consumed 60 percent of the electricity. Areas outside of Baghdad went un-served. So as we restore power, we are kicking some of it places other than Baghdad. And a lot of those in Baghdad don’t see that as such a great idea.

You also have to understand the level of looting. One can understand the looting as a backlash to the oppression and directed at palaces and such. But the looting of public service places such as universities, hospitals…that is harder to explain. But the crushing poverty of some of these people may explain some of it.

One reason it took us a while to clear the streets of garbage was there was no garbage service once the government fell. But when we organized the new service, there were no garbage trucks…they were all looted. I would get so mad when I’d ride through Baghdad and see a garbage truck, no garbage at all in the back because now it is some family’s ride.

But the streets are clean now. And Iraqi’s everyday contribute more and more to their own upkeep. They are finding their pride and acting on it.

We’re on our sixth Chief of Police now. We kept hiring a chief, then firing the cheif because he’d turn out to be on the take. These folks are masters of subversion. For 35 years they were on the take. The police under Saddam never left the police station unless they were called. So if you called one night and said “my house is being robbed” the police would say “Well, we are very busy tonight…how much money do you have.” That is the way policing worked under the Ba’ath party. If you were not a party member you had to buy police assistance.

And then, there was no detective work under these police…once you paid them they would ask you who you thought committed the crime, then they would go to that persons house and kill or torture everyone inside.

And so our wonderful MPs from New York are teaching the new police we are hiring how to be police in our sense of the term. But it is a slow prospect, because the culture of being corrupt is so ingrained. If we hire 400 policemen, we’ll eventually fire 300 of those because we won’t tolerate their being on the take. There are 9 police stations in the 1st Brigade area…we have an MP with a translator on duty in each one 24 hours per day. And when the MP has reason to believe the policeman is shaking someone down, we fire him. It is all about demonstrating resolve through action.

And one thing you quickly learn about Iraqis. They respect action. Talk is cheap…but they respect action.

And I’ll tell you this. I’ve had Iraqis tell me they respect American soldiers more than any other entity they have ever encountered. They respect our soldiers because they are disciplined, courteous, firm, and they do what they say they will do all the while treating the Iraqis with fairness, dignity and respect.

Meanwhile, we continue to clean up the city…on any given day we run upwards of 300 patrols in our area alone. We have the Iraqi Police walking along side so they will learn and earn the respect of their countrymen.

We are cleaning up the black market area too – watch the news because we have publicized that the black market area will be eliminated on 6 July. Now they will challenge us on that, because they believe talk is cheap. But on the 6th of July a platoon of soldiers will escort Bradley Fighting Vehicles into this area and will roll over the tables and stands. They respect action.

Meanwhile we are building a legitimate market place for legitimate commerce. We consulted with the locals about where it should be and what it should include. And suddenly these folks who have never had a say in anything, they are taking charge of themselves and their neighborhoods.

Also on July 6th the Baghdad City Council will meet for the first time. These are Iraqis elected first to district councils, then regional councils and then to the city council. Understand what this means. On that day for the first time in 35 years representatives of the people will sit across the table from the Ministers of the various departments and Iraqis will discuss with Iraqis what needs doing, how it will get done, and the Americans will begin the long process of simply fading into the background.

Make no mistake about it…progress is happening everywhere you look in Baghdad. Yes, the press reports on the shootings. But for every bad story there is I can show you one-hundred good stories.

And none of this would be happening but for your soldiers being there.

Be prepared…for when your soldier returns he will be 15 years wiser and more mature. We have privates making decisions in Iraq that back in garrison Lieutenant Colonels would be making.

And Captains making decisions that only Generals would make were we back home. Your soldiers are making things happen.

I spoke to Mr. Bremer. I told him I thought we were not doing well getting the story out about the progress being made. I hope to be able to have some influence on that in my next job.

Finally, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are beginning to flood into Baghdad where previously they were not there. Why now? Because Baghdad is secure now. They demonstrate their acknowledgement of that fact by their presence. And with these NGOs come a lot of money. I spoke to one lady from a certain NGO the other day who said “I’ve got $90 Million to spend in the next three weeks…who should I talk to.” These agencies will mean a sharp increase in relief to the average Iraqi.