So . . .

*** WARNING SOME FOLKS MAY FIND SOME OF THE FOLLOWING OFFENSIVE, PARTICULARLY IF CHILDREN ARE LOOKING. DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU***Ok, nothing should be that terribly offensive, but parents may not want to explain what certain acronyms mean.

A couple of posts ago my Aunt Hilda asked if I would be home soon. Yes I will be. Not for a desire to leave, but the PRT is closing (well, has actually closed), and the things that the PRTs do here are either transitioning to a new format under full State Department control without military support, or are going away altogether. Like a child learning to walk or to ride a bike (I can't decide which analogy is better) at some point you have to let go and they either make it on their own or . . . in this case, begin a civil war.

Ask me which it will be and my answer will depend on my mood. I can see Iraq lift itself up and start doing the things we've been helping them to try to do. I can see peoples opposed to us finally start to help their country now that the US troops are gone. It will probably be pretty rough and ugly, but I can see this country moving forward and resuming the place it had in the world, well at least the Arab world, in the 1960's and 70's. I can also see all-out civil war between Sunni and Shia like it was before the surge. Bodies on the streets, bombs going off everywhere, armed militias stopping vehicles at random checkpoints to verify one's religion. I can also see Iran trying to keep Iraq unstable and, after a few years, the Iraqis realizing that Iran, unlike the US, does not want Iraq to succeed and forcing out the Iranian influence that now exists. Anyone that says they "know" what's going to happen is kidding themselves.

I wish that the PRTs (or at least the concept of teams that support provincial level affairs, equipped with funding to do projects) could continue for another couple of years. Not because it'd be great to keep doing my job, but because I think it will be needed regardless of how the US troop withdrawal plays out. Iraq is one year ahead of its targeted oil production increases. That's good. However, like so many places, money in Iraq flows from the top down. I think it will be another 2 years at least before there's enough money to really filter down to the provincial level branches of government that we support. Put it in other words - before the Ministry of Education has the money to build new bookshelves for a law school library; before the higher judicial council has the funding to provide furniture and essential field equipment for the judicial investigative offices; and before the government can provide grants to the legal professional organizations to set up legal clinics and to help the profession integrate with the international legal community.

So what's next for me. In short, I don't know. As is the usual case, the world doesn't operate on my time schedule. I'll have to find something quick in Eugene, but my plans are to keep it temporary. I want to continue the type of things I'm doing here, at least in a general sense. I had a plan when I started this all and I have to remind myself that I'm only one year into that plan. Suffice it to say that I have several short-term and several long-term things in the works. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if I wind up back here sooner rather than later. But for unavoidable administrative delays (see, I've honed my diplomatic skills in the year I've been here) in the implementing of several programs, I would probably have had a job by now and returning home for my mandatory "home leave" (they don't want you to forget what life is like in the US while you're overseas).

Ann's been incredibly supportive about me being picky about what positions I apply for. Which means that I don't have a hundred resumes out there for positions I'm certainly not going to get (well, I did apply for that rule of law advisor position in Lesotho, but . . . I wanted that one) or jobs that aren't going to move me to where I want to be. Which means that I have not applied to the dozens of opportunities that are available in Afghanistan. I've applied for one because it met my criteria for moving me forward, but generally, no. So generally I tell people I have two goals in my job hunt - first is to find another position in international development; second is to stay the hell out of Afghanistan. I'll let you know how that turns out.

So life at the PRT has been very slow these past few weeks as we closed out. I've been one of the busier guys because I have 2 jobs. As you can see from this photo - the East Wing has pretty much been a ghost town. I've spent my time by the burn barrel and going through drawers and drawers of files to see what the rule of law section has done over the years. It's pretty impressive. There's been a lot of work done to rebuild and equip courthouses, law schools and professional organizations. Legal clinics for women and detainees scooped up during the surge. Legal training and lectures on commercial law, the US justice system and international law.

And my time here has not been a waste. If you can believe what people tell me and what some objective numbers show, I've been very productive here. I don't want to toot my own horn, but I did more than what was asked of me. And while I did more, there were a lot of things tried that did not work out. Still, I accomplished things that I am proud of. I really only have 2 regrets. First, that I didn't have more time. Second, that I didn't get a real opportunity to say goodbye to any of my contacts in the red zone. The security situation here has been strange the past two months and we simply could not get out, even though we tried. If you want to compare two two-week periods - last fall I went out 8-10 times in two weeks; this summer, once. So the clock ran out before I got to say goodbye. At least I've been getting a flood of thanks through phone calls and e-mails.

Working here wasn't always a joy. There is of course the living conditions, away from Ann, but there is also the frustrations of this environment. A friend once told me that the Iraqis have a thousand ways to say no without saying no, well along the same lines, there are a thousand reasons why a project can get scuttled here, and reasoning plays no part in that. At a meeting at a law school late last fall (after Iraq had been trying to form a government for over 6 months), an assistant dean asked us if we thought Iraq was better off not having a government. He said, other than budgeting (which was frozen), things were moving along just fine. Well, I can tell you that there were at least 5 projects, totaling about $200,000, involving multiple US and international partners, that were killed in this past month because a government was formed. In short, the projects were developed with full ministerial support before the government was formed, but the minister changed with the formation of the government and, to put it bluntly, it doesn't look good for a Sadrist to receive US funding on a project that benefits Iraqis. So homeless and disabled children, medical facilities, and the business community goes without. That's politics and that's just the way things are here, so you keep on trying and make things happen in other ways.

As we were shutting down folks started to write things on this giant white board at the PRT. Then other signs and stuff started going up, based on what folks had said. So here's a list of things, good and bad for your amusement:

Ok, the OPS guys were supposed to have a couple of weeks to fully shut down the PRT after we officially closed the doors. Then the powers that be told us that we had close the doors on August 1, with folks quickly moving in afterwards. Then the folks that are taking over the building (the term "taking over" took on a slightly different connotation over time) TOLD us they wanted us out "by 23:59 on 31 July 2011." Thus the photo to the left.

"When most of your time is spent thinking about what was, and not what will be, it's time to go."

"I'm so glad the 3161s are finally leaving Iraq, it's about time." (In case you've forgotten - I'm a 3161 thank you very much).

"I think PRTs should only be closed by new people." (It was, thankfully, at least from the US personnel end of things. It was difficult enough at the end for someone like me who has been here a year, it would have tormented someone who has been here 4 or 5 years. One of our rule of law Iraqis has been with the PRT since day one.)

But not all the comments were depressing.

"Letting go gives a better grip."

"The future is home."

Indeed it is and I'll be home with Ann soon. So with a touch of melancholy I say goodbye to this stage of Dan's Excellent Adventure. It indeed has been excellent. I've met some great people, made some wonderful friends, and done some good things. I may be back, I may not be. If I knew what was next it probably wouldn't be much of an adventure, would it?

I just hope that wherever I go, I keep meeting people who are willing to do things like this on their way out of town.

Thanks for reading, and I will be back. The adventure continues . . .

[My apologies, but there has been a delay in posting this.  In case you were wondering, I'm already home.]