An Iraqi man casts his vote during the Diyara Agricultural Union elections in Diyara, Iraq, Aug. 12, 2006. The 1,200 member union elected seven councilmen to decide the direction of the union, which will enable farmers in the southern Baghdad and northern Babil province region to make profits they haven't seen in years. U.S. Army photo by Cpl. Michael Molinaro


The Diyara Agricultural Union held its first elections in the history of the program in Diyara, Iraq

By U.S. Army Cpl. Michael Molinaro

DIYARA, Iraq, Aug. 18, 2006 – The Diyara Agricultural Union held its first elections in the history of the program at the Diyara secondary school Aug. 12.

Farmers from the region voted for seven members to sit on the board of directors that will be depended upon to lead the union and its members into the future.

“They will decide the direction of the union and resource allocations in Diyara,” said Capt. Ben Simms, commander, Company D, 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.

The union is a means of resource for the more than 1,200 farmers in the southern Baghdad/northern Babil provincial region. It’s a program that enables them to buy seeds, tools, insecticides and other items at subsidized prices and earn profits previously not seen before, Simms said. They will also be able to make equipment trades with other farmers, making it a group effort to succeed.

The union was run by the Iraqi government during the Saddam regime. Things were handled by the Ministry of Agriculture, sometimes leaving the smaller individual farmer’s needs out in the cold as they tended to cater to those that would help stock markets in Baghdad, Saleh said. After the fall of the regime, the unions closed up.

“We had to rely on the government before,” said Saleh, a lifelong resident of Diyara. “Sometimes we would get things, sometimes we didn’t. There was no board to get our voice heard. The union allows all of us to work with each other and more importantly buy what we need much cheaper than before.”

Soldiers from 2-8 Inf. saw the union as a way of getting the farmers back on their feet and being able to conduct business for themselves. Agriculture is the primary means of business in this part of Iraq and more than 4,000 people from the region depend on it to keep fed and clothed. By using a more democratic approach, the union will run more like a business than a government subsidy, Simms said.

Soldiers from 2-8 Inf. donated fertilizer and other consumables to the union so the farmers had something to work with, “start-up cash,” as Simms described it. After that, it will be up to those elected to set the prices for the farmers to buy their items and get things rolling at the union.

“We will be there to help them run it in the beginning, make sure the bookkeeping is kept straight and help with projects to give them a better office and storage space to work out of,” Simms remarked. “We’ll oversee the initial meetings, but over time we will be less and less a part of it.”

A Sunni was elected president and three Shia’s were voted to the other top positions, defining the diversity of the board and representing the demographics of the region. The board will be tasked to keep the union solvent and with a high voter turnout and the enthusiasm witnessed in the faces of the farmers, hope is prevalent in the area.

“We love what we do and are good farmers,” one resident said moments after voting. “Now we will rely on each other to give our families better lives and make this area what it once was.”

A representative from the Ministry of Agriculture validates the results of elections held in Diyara, Iraq, Aug. 12, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Cpl. Michael Molinaro

Sitting down together: Maintaining friendly contact with community leaders at a human level is important. Ministry of Defence photo by Harland Quarrington.


Sunday, 20 August 2006
By Roy Bacon

BASRA — The senior British Soldier in Basra says progress towards stability in the region is slowed by complex tribal loyalties, but hostility is not universal and commerce can help.

As commander of the 20th Armoured Brigade, Brig. James Everard can be seen as the most powerful tribal leader in southern Iraq. In a country where weapons win more arguments than debate, the troops under his control earn him great respect. But Everard prefers to use diplomacy, dialogue and training to achieve lasting success.

In an office at Basra Air Station, among maps, books on guerrilla warfare and an Aladdin’s lamp -- he says he has resisted the temptation to bring out the genie -- the Brigadier explained the challenge of bringing disparate groups together for the greater good of the community.

"You have to remember that we’re very different from Baghdad,” he said. "There’s no-one here who wants to overturn the government. They just want a bigger slice of political power and the trappings that go with it."

That does not mean the security situation is resolved. People are murdered on the streets, victims of tribal feuds, religious sectarianism, terrorism or simple criminal activity. And there's no doubt things have got more difficult recently.

Everard admits his troops are now far more cautious when moving around the area then when they first arrived. But he also said there is less need for British soldiers to be on the streets, because Iraq's own police and military are doing much more of the work.

So what is it like walking around Basra city these days?

"It's a bit like going to a football match in England wearing the wrong shirt. If you catch the mood right, people don't see anything wrong with you. If you catch the mood wrong, you could be in trouble very quickly," Everard explained.

Regardless of who is doing the policing, a solution to the power struggles and violence will demand far more than shows of force.

"The solution is a political one," said Everard. "What you need is a government in Iraq which is going to give a lead of clear determination, strength and moral validity. And we need them to establish boundaries. There are people down here who simply don't see themselves as beholden to the rule of law."

"You find someone who's very good, and you invest in him heavily, but he's recognized as very good, and then taken elsewhere. You can imagine the frustration for a unit which spent six months building up a cohesive police station around the chief of police and his key deputy who are on-side, progressive and helpful. Then you go in one day to find they've both been promoted and taken to Baghdad.”

Such complications take on added significance in dealing with the tribal structure.

"Links are everything," explained Everard. "If you're a politician your loyalty will be to your political party. But you'll also be loyal to your tribe, and, through marriages, have secondary loyalties to other tribes.

"We're always slightly surprised when people are reluctant to make what we would deem a quick or logical decision, and it’s often because, although they know what the decision is going to achieve, they have to work out what the impact is going to be in terms of tribe, politics and wealth."

He compared Iraq to his experience in the Balkans, where the prevailing warlord culture meant any compromise was seen as weakness.

"People haven't been exposed to the way democracy is meant to work. It’s a question of dialogue, consensus, compromise, and the powerful respecting the rights of the minority. But there are an awful lot of people who really don’t get it at all."

And while winning the battle for minds is essential, the methods used are not ideological - they are very practical bread-and-butter ones, he said.

"Through the Provincial Reconstruction Teams and other structures we’re trying to tempt inward investment and get employment-generating commerce off the ground. We recognize that many of the people who are picking up guns are young, unemployed and bored, and therefore ripe for recruitment into some of these (insurgent) organizations."

There has been concrete progress in some areas.

Everard views the handing back of Muthanna province to Iraqi control as highly significant, and predicted that Dhi Qar and Maysan provinces could be handed back by the end of the year. That, he said, raises the question of what to do with the resources freed up by the process.

"The big decision people will have to make in the future is whether to take your dividend elsewhere, or to reinvest it. The temptation will be to put those troops elsewhere. But actually, if you're going to finish this off, you ought to reinvest them here."

Everard is under no illusions about the difference he can make during his brief time in charge.

"It's a long-term game," he said. "You come down here wanting to change the world. But you realize that your seven months is part of a much larger game plan. If you can make your slice of the Iraqi Army or the Border Enforcement Agency or the Police better and stronger, that's job done. That's achievement."

British soldiers on patrol interact with the Iraqi locals. Ministry of Defence photo by Harland Quarrington.The Iraqi Police force -- an essential element in restoring civil order -- is generally viewed as less reliable than the Iraqi Army, and the multi-national force has worked hard to train its leadership. But Everard said that success creates its own difficulties.

HOME INSPECTION — U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Steele, from 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, leads a house raid in Baghdad, Iraq, Aug. 11, 2006. U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Jonathan F. Doti

Soldiers from 2nd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division participate in a training course to improve close quarter’s marksmanship skills Aug. 16 at Forward Operating Base Gabe near Baqubah, Iraq. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Paul J. Harris, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office, August 16, 2006)


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 18, 2006
SR# 081806-142


by Pfc. Paul J. Harris
3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office

BAQUBAH, Iraq (August 17, 2006) -- Gunfire rings out followed by sharp commands in Arabic. Iraqi Soldiers stack against the barriers like pieces in a puzzle and attempt to clear the adjoining room. It is this close quarter’s marksmanship training that makes the Iraqi Soldier better.

Iraqi Soldiers from 2nd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division completed a month-long training course Aug. 16. The course was taught by U.S. Special Forces and the Military Transition Team Soldiers at Forward Operating Base Gabe.

"A democracy needs good fighters and good Soldiers, especially in an area like Baqubah," said Gen. Samon Talabany, commander, 2nd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division, who was at FOB Gabe to see his Soldiers progress.

Talabany said he was happy with the training coalition forces provided and did not think there were many units in Iraq that got this type of help.

The training focuses on close quarter’s marksmanship and basic movement techniques similar to training U.S. Soldiers receive in basic training.

"It was not too hard as long as you paid attention and kept your head in the training," said a 2nd Brigade Iraqi Soldier after receiving his certificate of completion.

The Soldier said he will take this information and teach it to the other Soldiers in his unit.

"When a Soldier finishes the training you can see the change in him," Talabany said. "Every month they are training one company from the brigade. They are doing very well and are extremely professional."

The reason for this training is to get Iraqi Soldiers to become a cohesive unit. The Soldiers are proficient at fighting; but the fundamentals of communication and movement that U.S. Soldiers learn in basic training were not taught to the Iraqi Soldiers until now.

"A large percentage of the guys in 2nd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division were (Iraqi) National Guard and they received no basic training," said Lt. Col. Frank Muggeo, Military Transition Team leader for 2nd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Task Force Band of Brothers. "They were on the street, they gave them a gun and they have been fighting for a couple of years without any of the training we would have gone through."

Though it was like starting from scratch, Muggeo, along with Talabany, is pleased with the way the training has enhanced the skills of the Iraqi Soldiers.

"They go back to the unit as a platoon as opposed to a bunch of guys," Muggeo said. "I think the transformation of the brigade has been magnificent."

Soldiers from 2nd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division fire at paper targets simulating enemy forces during a training course monitored by Iraqi officials and U.S. military advisors to improve close quarter’s marksmanship skills Aug. 16 at Forward Operating Base Gabe near Baqubah, Iraq. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Paul J. Harris, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office, August 16, 2006)

Soldiers from 2nd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division sprint from a room they just cleared to the next objective during a training course to improve close quarter’s marksmanship skills Aug. 16 at Forward Operating Base Gabe near Baqubah, Iraq. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Paul J. Harris, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office, August 16, 2006)

Soldiers from 2nd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division dismount their truck and prepare to storm a house during a training course to improve close quarter’s marksmanship skills Aug. 16 at Forward Operating Base Gabe near Baqubah, Iraq. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Paul J. Harris, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office, August 16, 2006)

A Soldier from 2nd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division pulls guard in front of a truck as his fellow Soldiers storm a house during a training course to improve close quarter’s marksmanship skills Aug. 16 at Forward Operating Base Gabe near Baqubah, Iraq. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Paul J. Harris, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office, August 16, 2006)

by Petty Officer 2nd Class Justin K. Thomas
August 17, 2006
The 3rd U.S. Infantry’s U.S. Army Drill Team executes precision drill movements during a festival at Fort Eustis, Va.