KIRKUK,
Kurdistan-Iraq - Maj. Lawrence Aguilar marches
purposefully through the halls of the Kirkuk
Government Building, smiling widely, exchanging
embraces and quaffing endless cups of sugary tea and
cardamom-spiced coffee.
Welcome to the exciting, often delicate, new front
in the war in Iraq: local government.
Aguilar, as head of Company B, 451st Civil Affairs
Battalion, an Army Reserve team assigned to Kirkuk,
works daily to guide local leaders to independence.
It’s a battle, often, of words, wits and some highly
amusing cultural head-butting.
“I’m a facilitator, a coordinator, a diplomat,”
Aguilar said. “It’s their country. All we can do is
give them the tools, show them how to use it and let
them go.” |
Kirkuk governor Rahman Mustafa said Americans' role
has scaled back considerably since he became
governor in 2003.
Photo: Stars and Stripes |
|
The team
- culled from reservists from all around the U.S. -
has made many strides in its four months in Iraq, he
said.
“Since we’ve been here, we’ve made a lot of
progress,” Aguilar said. “When [Americans] got here
[in 2003], coalition forces ran the show. Now Iraqis
run the show with our assistance. We are emphasizing
the use of the Iraqi government system.”
Much of that assistance, Iraqi and American
officials acknowledge, is conveyed in an
internationally understood language: cash.
Since the group’s arrival, economic officials with
the civil affairs team have worked to start and
secure funding for 24 separate reconstruction
projects in the area, a multimillion dollar
investment. In Kirkuk as a whole, nearly $430
million has been spent, mostly to secure and keep
the area’s oil fields — a significant source of
national income — in working order.
“[American forces] give us support, they help us in
projects, they play a role in keeping security,”
said Kirkuk provincial Governor Rahman Mustafa, a
Kurd. “But actually, they have less of a role in
Iraqi politics.”
Kirkuk Provincial Council Chairman Rizgar Ali, also
a Kurd, said Americans stay out of political
matters.
“At the beginning,” he said, “the Americans were
involved in everything. Now they are involved mostly
in the security issues; they are less involved now.”
Capt. Cathy Curtis, a physical therapist in civilian
life who voluntarily switched her military job to
civil affairs, said the unit is transitioning to a
less active role in order to reach a greater
objective.
“Our role is to work ourselves out of a job so the
soldiers can go home,” she said.
Despite what Iraqi and American leaders classify as
a successful collaboration, that day is not yet
here.
“The reality is, we still need [the U.S. Army],”
Mustafa said. “We need them to help us coordinate
the projects, we need them to coordinate the funds
to secure the projects. We care that they stay.”
Ali said he feels America has a duty to continue
supporting Iraq for the time being.
“America is the strongest country in the world,” he
said. “It’s their duty to help the poor countries.
And they have interests in Iraq. The geographic
location of Iraq is very good for America. Iraq is
now a friend.”
When asked how long it would take to make the
government fully self-sufficient, Aguilar, who has
become proficient in Iraqi cultural mores, answered
in a characteristically Iraqi way: with a poetic
analogy.
“When you plant a flower,” he said, “how long does
it take for that flower to grow from a seed to a
sprout? It takes some time. How long does it take
for it to grow to a beautiful flower? Quite a bit
longer. Americans cannot make up the damage someone
has caused for 30 years in two or three years. But
we’re moving in the right direction.”
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