Expertise

Today members of a new Iraq Study group visited the PRT. Dr. Megan O'Sullivan chaired the entourage which included several thinkers, such as Colin Kahl, and Jeff Beals. O'Sullivan cast herself as a uniformed executive, wearing a black suit, black heeled boots, and toting a Furla purse (that I judged at around 600 bucks).

"It's a good thing we didn't 'liberate' the Iraqis," Kahl said before the meeting. "Otherwise it'd be Operation Iraqi Liberation (OIL)." We sat in a high-ceilinged room surrounded by posters of Iraqi cities: Baghdad, Mosul, Samarra, and others.  No one touched the fresh fruit on the table. But the coffee was popular.

The discussion lasted about an hour and a half before the group went for a 'tour' through a Baghdad neighborhood. Almost the entire time was spent restating the question: 'what level of Iraqi functionality is acceptable for Americans to leave?' After about 30 minutes, O'Sullivan interrupted to explain, "...we're here at the invitation of Ambassador Crocker and General Odierno to give a fresh perspective." Then we went back to playing with the question.

Major issues facing Iraqi reconstruction were glossed over or hardly discussed. The downsizing of critical Arabic Subject matter experts employed by the Department of Defense, known as Bilingual Bicultural Advisors (BBAs), was brought up by General Swan (4th ID) but the group remained hung up by a rubric the Department of State uses to grade Iraqi government capability. Another daunting challenge for the coalition is the incredible amount of Department of State positions filled by 'direct hires' (which I prefer to call contractors). These 'contractors' flit in and out of employment, are forced to navigate an overly-complex hiring process, and--although significant contributors to success--only prove the ad hoc nature of the Department of State's organization here.

Another profitable topic: what are the staff positions required for a Provincial Reconstruction Team, and what are their respective duties and responsibilities? These roles are in constant flux because of employee turnover and the State Department reliance on personality instead of doctrine.

PRT Baghdad is an amazingly effective organization--they have mentored the local government into a functioning organization. But often they succeed despite themselves. And greater challenges, such as the Surge's natural death, have yet to be overcome.