Expectations

Having been in Iraq for three months, I’ve seen how various people who dwell in the International Zone adapt to their surroundings. There is a unique mix of military, Department of State, civilian contractors, third country nationals, and Iraqis. Although very cosmopolitan, the atmosphere is one of concentrated purpose. Not exactly mirthful but it is technically a combat zone. The expectations weren’t always so. A recent article published in the Washington Post, laments that the Green Zone – the more popular name for the International Zone – is really more a Gray Zone at least as far as its inhabitants are concerned. The article concerns a legislative advisor to Ambassador Crocker who pines for the more optimistic days, just after the US-led invasion, when many neo-con civilian staffers arrived at what would become the International Zone in the military’s wake with upbeat ideas of building Iraq back up in a matter of months. Iraq was a place to transfer their “ideals to a grateful nation fight terrorism and have an exciting time,” so says the article. The by-line in the email sent to me with the article’s web address said, “This is a first class job of sniveling.”

(One book in particular, Rajiv Chandrasekaran’s Imperial Life in the Emerald City, captures those halcyon days which, with the benefit of hindsight, now appear dangerously misinformed and ineptly managed by the then Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). In fact, one could say the series of bad decisions and faulty assumptions of the CPA is the reason I’m here in Baghdad typing this blog entry.)

The nature of expectations showcases the different backgrounds of the people who find themselves here. For those of us in the military, life in the IZ is pretty good: we are not living in tents, we have plenty of security, and have access to showers and cooked food every day. The DFAC, as I have already written about, is a logistical miracle, serving a variety of good food daily and consistently on time.

Of course, we are subject to the occasional mortar or rocket attack from disgruntled Shi’a elements in Baghdad. Thus, these same living conditions are classified as an extreme hardship tour for the Department of State civilians. They get to live in trailers without roommates, get to go home every 90 days for two weeks, and get Fridays and Saturdays (plus US holidays) off. All this and they tend to look rather sullen when I pass them in the hall ways of the Embassy.

Nevertheless, the laments written about in the article belie different institutional approaches to Iraq. Just after the invasion, the non-Department of State neo-con civilian staffers who arrived to “fix” post war Iraq were optimistic for exactly the wrong reasons; they felt their own views and values were shared with the recently liberated Iraqi population.

If you are in the military and deploying to a combat zone, optimism is not one of the dominant emotions; those of us in uniform are more centered on determined pragmatism and getting the job done. If you end up with a roof over your head and hot meals then that’s a bonus.

If you are in the State Department, Iraq is either the biggest challenge of your career or something dreadful to be avoided at all costs.

And if you are an Iraqi, getting a job in the Embassy compound – even as a custodian – is a lot better than most jobs in the red zone. In fact, they are the ones smiling most of the time.
Collectively, we need to ensure Iraqis outside the compound have something to smile about too.