Rebuilding Iraq: Muthanna Province

RealClearWorld presents a special series of original, exclusive blog posts by the boots on the ground in Iraq - Baghdad, Anbar Province and beyond. These bloggers include American Marines, soldiers, support personnel and government administrators. The posts also feature exclusive, on-location photographs of Iraqi lives as seen through the lenses of the bloggers.

These posts are provided exclusively to RealClearWorld by the U.S. Department of State. The views expressed in these posts are the bloggers' own sentiments.

Rebuilding Iraq

Part Two: Muthanna Province

Muthanna Province, roughly the size of the State of Maine, has a population of 700,000 and is Iraq’s second largest province. Though large in size, it is the nation’s least economically developed. Sharing a border with Saudi Arabia, it is in the Deep South where temperatures can reach 140 degrees. Unemployment is high and agriculture (livestock, dates, rice, and wheat) support the livelihood of many of the province’s residents. Cement, brick, and salt factories comprise the industrial capacity of the province.

While the residents of Muthanna, like almost all Iraqis, certainly wonder when the U.S. will leave Iraq, the question that is first on the minds of folks here is, how can the U.S. help us? The province was largely ignored by the Saddam regime. This means much of the work the PRT is doing to help the people here is well received. Whereas essential services were destroyed or disrupted by war and sectarian violence across much of Iraq, Muthanna simply did not have these essential services to begin with; in many cases, we helped provide these essential services to the residents of Muthanna for the very first time.

PRT Public Diplomacy Officer Aaron Snipe hands food to a widow in Rumaytha City, Muthanna, during the holy month of Ramadan.

Understanding Iraq and the development challenges at the provincial level is a Herculean task. While I cannot speak for the policy-makers in Washington, I can speak for the members of my PRT when I say that we are making a difference in the lives of the residents of Muthanna. I have also come to know that the contributions we make here will probably never reach the ears and eyes of most Americans back home. Providing Arabic books to needy schools in rural Iraq won’t make headlines back home, but it makes news in Muthanna, and more importantly, a real difference here on the ground. Food distributions to needy families during the holy month of Ramadan is common in Iraq and across the Middle East, but when a U.S. diplomat welcomes the needy – in Arabic – and is the one handing out those bags to widows, people here take notice. Clearing fields of garbage and scrap metal to make way for soccer fields for the youth of Muthanna is a small monetary investment for our PRT, but one made in the name of Iraqi youth that is, without a doubt, worth any amount of time and effort.

Muthanna is an agrarian society at heart and some of our most meaningful efforts are focused in this sector. An example of a project that is making a significant difference in the lives of local Iraqis, but not making headlines, is our effort to help farmers replenish their fleeting livestock numbers. Decades of neglect under Saddam, years of war, and other economic factors have forced many of Muthanna’s farmers to slaughter their livestock for food to feed their families, while stripping them of their main source of income.

The dwindling numbers of breeding bulls have created an agricultural and financial crisis for Muthanna’s farmers. With a PRT-inspired, Iraqi-led program in place, the numbers of livestock will certainly increase. Now, I am painfully aware that this is not a story that sells itself. How do you turn this project into a high-gloss "success story?" Answer: You don’t. But guess what? We don’t really care if the folks back in Washington can’t make a brochure out of this one. Just ask the Iraqi agricultural officials who recognize that this program is helping revitalize a vital part of their agricultural sector, and their economy. They’ll tell you this vital program is no BS.

I know books, soccer fields, and food won't solve all the problems of Iraq. But our mission here is to supplement Iraqi efforts, not solve every problem. We are here doing important work and, in a short amount of time, I can see with my own eyes that we are making a difference. I am happy to report that Muthanna continues to be an oasis of stability in these turbulent times.

Read the Entire Series at RCW's Rebuilding Iraq Blog