The Governor of Najaf

A few days ago our team made the transition from Babil to Najaf Province. The helicopter flight from FOB Kalsu was fascinating with terrific views of the agricultural landscapes of the Euphrates River valley, including lots of fish ponds, most of them small (5 acres) but some huge ones (100 acres) as well.

The contrast of where we’ve been and where we are now couldn’t be more stark. We have moved from a large military base that served as brigade headquarters with a couple thousand soldiers and civilians to a tiny base with about 100 people total, which serves as the base for the Najaf PRT (Provincial Reconstruction Team). The main mission of the army units here is to provide security for the movements of the civilians into the province. There is also a small contingent of about 20 Ugandans (including the only three women here) who provide security on the base proper. The total number of American military personnel in the province is small, in contrast to the large presence in Babil. The Iraqi army "controls the battlespace," in the words of our PRT liaison here. We are now most definitely staying in the desert. A climb up a guard tower reveals a desolate sandscape in all directions.

Another contrast is that we are now working in an overwhelmingly Shiite area as opposed to a mixed Sunni/Shiite area in Babil. In fact, we are less than 10 km away from one of the holiest places in all of Shia Islam, the shrine of the Imam Ali. Unfortunately it is a "no go" zone for us so my curiosity must remain unsatisfied. The local officials we have met insist that Najaf is a safe place and have encouraged us not to where our body armor and helmets and that they would be able to provide adequate security. This may or may not be the case, but we are "high value" to the U.S. military and they are calling the shots on all our movements. I’m with the program.

On the day after arrival, we were invited to pay a courtesy call on the Governor of Najaf at his office. Doing formal meet-and-greets is a necessary part of our activities here, especially at the beginning of work in a province. I was really unprepared for the progressive outlook and intense and genuine interest in our work expressed by the Governor. He’s very much a hands-on, take-charge CEO type. In opening remarks to us he talked about the direct correlation between food security and overall security. After introductions of assembled provincial government officials by the Governor and introductions of our team by our leader, and the inevitable glass of chai, we moved to an adjacent conference room to continue the discussion. The agricultural representative on the Provincial Council made some particularly impassioned remarks, expressing his gratitude to America for the freedom they now have and for our presence in Najaf, signaling a interest in revitalizing agriculture. At this point, the councilman became quite emotional and choked back tears. It was a stirring moment.















The Governor of Najaf (C), the Director General for Agriculture (R), and the Head of Veterinary Services (L).

Shortly after this, a young woman who works in the governor’s office circulated around the room and gave each of us a card with embossed silver edges that reads:

4 of July is a symbolic day for the United States of America. Where life, liberty and pursuit of happiness was declared. We respect this historical day and we congratulate you for this event. We hope a great future for the Iraqi-American relationship and look to see it grow further.
Happy Independence Day
Sincerely yours
Asaad Sultan AbuGulal
Governor of the Holy city of Najaf

Members of Team Borlaug enjoying chai with some of the governor's staff.

I talked with one of our BBAs (translators) after our meeting and he told me that the Governor is considered to be one of the best provincial leaders in the whole country. He is popular with the people because he is making investments that are resulting in visible and tangible improvements to the quality of life in Najaf. Notably there is a new international airport scheduled to open within the next couple of weeks, intended in part to serve the huge religious tourism market (20 million visitors per year to a city of 1 million!). The Governor has also invested strategically in agricultural development. There are research stations for rice (we will visit there tomorrow), dates, sheep, and desert agriculture. All the agricultural officials we have met are very committed to change, but are operating under severe constraints associated with decades of neglect and politics of the gun under Saddam.

Our team had hoped to hit the ground running. We like to get out as much as we can to visit sites, talking with scientists and farmers and everyday people. We’ve been rather frustrated because the Najaf PRT has only been here for 7 weeks and they don’t appear to get outside the wire very much. In order for us to go out, we need grid coordinates and a point-of-contact in order for a reconnaissance team to scout the area prior to making the trip. The insulation of this particular PRT has proved a hindrance to us, although to their credit they now recognize this and are working hard to get us into the field. I think we finally broke through the logjam today and have trips for the month fairly well planned out.

Time is drawing short for me. After our trip to the rice research station tomorrow a subset of us will travel back to Babil Province. The wheels are turning to get me to the Euphrates Fish Farm for a day. Then, it will be on to Baghdad for a few days before departing in about one week.