June 2009Going to WarBy David MatsudaWhat a difference a year makes. In my previous engagement in Iraq I served in Sadr City and the Sunni Triangle. I witnessed friends killed by snipers. Convoys in which I rode were ambushed in complex attacks. Tension was always in the air, as if death was trying to strike up a conversation that you were desperately trying to ignore. I lived in “surge” housing, otherwise known as a trailer that was too cold in the winter, a sweat lodge in the summer and with paper thin walls that seemed to amplify every sound my neighbors and their guests made. Back then it was overcrowded bathrooms, long chow lines and workspaces crammed into rundown airplane hangers and trailers not fit for human habitation. Two months ago I returned to an Iraq transformed. Americans and Iraqis work side by side on security and stability issues. Many third country national contractors have been replaced by Iraqis. There’s a sense of normalcy occasionally punctuated by violence, rather than the opposite. Still, problems remain. The electricity grid is producing more power even as deferred maintenance breakdowns lead to frequent blackouts. The water supply is contaminated. Without a diversified economy to rely on, the government’s budget is in free fall. I’m stationed at Camp Victory, home to the Aw Faw Palace complex, a combination administrative center and royal pleasure ground for Saddam’s sons Uday and Cusay. The centerpiece of an eight palace complex, Aw Faw’s façade is pseudo Mesopotamian architecture with a giant arched entrance way that leads into a grand rotunda ringed by spiral staircases and featuring a magnificent chandelier and Italian marble throughout. Aw Faw is the ceremonial center for the United States military, used to perform changing of the guard ceremonies and receive very important persons. Since I arrived I’ve met with a congressional delegation, grasped hands and locked eyes with President Barack Obama, and shared the palace halls with countless military tourists who ask me to take pictures of them on Saddam’s throne, gifted to him by then Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasir Arafat. I now live in a wet CHU (Collapseable Housing Unit) trailer with a room on each end and a shared bathroom in the middle. Since the surge is over and troops are going home or being redirected to other theatres, the trailer and bathroom are essentially mine. As Cultural Advisor to the Commanding General and his leadership team I no longer conduct neighborhood negotiations. I work at the strategic and operational levels, helping to craft our non-lethal partnership with the Iraqis through discussions with their leaders, and planning our complex exit strategy. I travel with the Commanding General to diplomatic events, and visit the embassy on his behalf to consult with the U.S. State Department on how to best help the Iraqis certify their upcoming elections. |
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