Progress

How do you define progress and what's the calendar measure that shows good enough is good enough?

Reflections in the media, intelligence from bad guys, theories by higher entities and discussions with peers all indicate progress:

**Helped the Iraqis get rid of an old Iraqi chemical rocket that was making people sick far north of here recently in Halabcha. The rocket was fired by Saddam's army against the Kurdish people in 1983 or so. The locals found it and they asked for help.

**Bad guys claim we are bringing poisonous snakes and alligators to southern Iraq. Cobras, in fact. They also allege we are attacking ourselves to create an artifical threat as an excuse to stay. Has it come to this? Is this the best insurgents have to offer now? What's next, momma jokes? Nope, sorry-- not us. We're packing up, unless you ask us to stay, but you have to ask. After all-- it's your country (which we helped you build, saved once from an ugly civil war, then gave back to you. Again.)

**For the month of August, Iraq pumped 68 million barrels of oil worth $7 billion. Money went to the Government. Provinces are passing budgets filled with civil works projects and stuff is getting built. Is there still corruption? Yep. But have you looked at our own campaign financing or our banking industry lately?

**Sadr and other insurgent groups spout hate against the US and disgruntlement against the Government of Iraq over the internet. Television and print media is also openly critical of the Government. Prior to the US invasion, comments against the government got you 'disappeared.' Today Sadr stokes the fire against the force that gave him the freedom and the mechanism to express discord against the government, and you could link the Arab Spring of grassroots revolutions to demand accountability of governments to events in Iraq. (Granted, it's a stretch.)

**When I took this job, everyone said 'don't get sucked into Maysan.' Maysan has a very strong Iranian influence, and lots of the accelerants that get used in Iraq come by way of Maysan. Provincial governor and police forces there are openly anti-US. We got sucked in anyway. And after a lot of swinging, influencing, and cajoling, we helped orchestrate bad things happening to bad people. The tide turned (with no doubt a lot of additional political haggling on a level I'll never understand). Our efforts there aren't by any means the sole reason for progerss there, but things are moving in a positive direction at the hands of Iraqis.

**Oh yeah- we got rid of a dictator who killed lots of people indiscriminately.

Don't get me wrong-- the place is still a dump full of crazy, and it has a long way to go. But it's a dump with potential. Extremism isn't dead-- but is it extremism or just political activism done the only way they know how? Sometimes our eye for progress is short sighted, and if this thing works, Iraq is on the road to be a major stakeholder in the next 10 years.

Will we stay or go? Dunno. But we're running out of time, and sometimes not making a decision is deciding.

The clock ticks on...

Ron