I arrived to find an office that had been set up in indecent haste and which, two weeks
later, was suffering the consequences. Office infrastructure was (and still is) virtually
non-existent, living conditions were (and still are) pretty miserable, large numbers of
Danish staff were passing through on their way to Baghdad imprinting their own
organisational ideas, and the handful of Brits who had arrived a few days earlier were
- feeling a bit bemused
Amb Olsen arrived in the office from Damascus the same day as me. Ole Olsen is 61
years old and has had spent much of his career in Africa and the Middle East. He is used
to hardship postings and is taking this one in his stride, albeit it takes its toll on him. He
makes no secret of not wanting this posting but is determined to do it to the best of his
ability. He has a strong sense of humour and organises regular games' nights and
informal parties.
His forte is in interfacing with the locals - his Arabic is excellent - and
he has struck up a good rapport with the UK military commanders (which I and my
military colleagues have been keen to facilitate). He also has a sense of urgency and is
keen to see tangible results. He relies heavily on me as the Deputy, the COS, Col Peter
Duklis (US), and a Danish Political Adviser, Morten Sejr and we work together well as a
team. :
I have used my time so
far in structuring the office, process-building and resource issues. Olsen's Algerian born
Doctor wife, Fatima, has accompanied him and assists in a number of areas around the
office. Together they share a small room in the building which serves as our office space
and our living quarters and which we share with the Royal Military Police and the Civil
Affairs staff from HQ 1 Div. We have plans to move into a newly renovated building a
short distance from our current office accommodation, hopefully within 3 weeks although
ORHA Baghdad has still to sign a contract. We also have a plan to move some staff into
a (basic) hotel pro temps to free up office space for newcomers. The longer term
intention (6-8 weeks) is that we move into another renovated accommodation block next
door to our new office space but again no contract has yet been let. To date, the only
assistance we have had from ORHA Baghdad is 7 vehicles and a Raytheon operated
"Batmobile' which facilitates internet connection (patchily). We have no operating
budget (despite repeated letters and e mails and meetings) and are running, sparsely, on
Danish Foreign Ministry cash and Amb Olsen's own bank account. Unlike the other
regional offices, we also have no security guards or caterers (we eat with B Coy, Black
Watch) and have been forbidden for contracting for them independently. This situation is
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• At the pom where we have the knowleage base and the
necessary resources we will move into the lead, allowing the military to focus on security
and their exit strategy. Clearly this will not begin to happen until we have considerably
more people, and for a while yet we will be largely re-active, although in some areas eg
health where we have a strong 3-person UK team, significant progress is already being
made. Other areas the UK team members are involved include trade, education, customs,
utilities and pay. We are attempting to mirror the ministry structure replicated at regional
level (less MFA and defence) but two members, for instance, to cover oil, water,
sewerage and sanitation, gas and electricity across 4 regions is ambitious by anyone's
standards. Additional staff are arriving in trickles but are predominantly military and
directed to us by HQ 1 Div and Tim Cross. Although they fill stopgaps and we are
exceedingly grateful, Baghdad will need to help populate the office with the experts we
require. Interaction with Baghdad on policy issues is virtually non existent despite our
best efforts to engage by e mail. It is still impossible to telephone anyone in Baghdad.
We are currently Basra based and focused but are now actively shifting up a gear and
putting our first officer in Thi Qar province tomorrow with more to follow soon. The
plan is to cover Muthana from Dhi Qar as Samawah takes it lead from An Nassariah.
Gen Mattis of 1 Mar Div, within whose AO Thi Qar and Muthana fall, has been
exceptionally helpful and supportive. Despite Buck Walters of ORHA Heartlands having
been up and running in the region for many weeks now, at a meeting today Gen Mattis
was scathing about what they were achieving and the lack of cooperation with the US
military on the ground
In addition to ORHA South (or CPA South as we hear on the grapevine we should now
be called!), Local Governance Teams (LGTs) have also been set up and one exists in
Basra headed by a 73 year old Texan. These are USAID contractors, RTI, working to the
Head of Reconstruction in ORHA, Baghdad. But their mandate is virtually identical to
what we perceive ours to be (less the overarching policy responsibility) on the basis that
LGTs were set up before the regional coordinator idea was conceived. ORHA Baghdad
has so far avoided realigning mandates or bringing the LGTs under the control of the
Regional Coordinators. I gather this is causing confusion across the regions and Tim
Cross is, quite rightly, trying to get Bremer to focus on the issue. The issue hasn't yet
come to a head in Basra but it is certainly wasteful of resources to have two teams fishing
in the same pond.
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Back to the Danes. There is huge Danish interest in the Ambassador's role and Danish
media and TV crews are an everyday facet of our life here. There is also enormous
pressure on Olsen to report back to Copenhagen daily, a task he finds quite onerous. The
Danish Foreign Minister is likely to visit Basra shortly and has now taken to sending
personal e mails to Olsen. Despite obvious Danish national pride in being asked to take
on what they see as a very prestigious role, Olsen is the only Danish MFA officer. The
other Danes are non government employees on contract. But teams pass through
regularly eg to assess the state of the local judiciary (which can be something of a mixed
blessing as their knowledge returns with them to Copenhagen).
Denmark is also keen to capitalise commercially from this venture, although Olsen is at
pains to try to distance himself from this. I understand a Danish consulate is due to open
in Basra shortly, to include a trade section. In the meantime, Danish commercial interests
are being covered in two ways. Many of the Danish staff in ORHA South are sponsored
by private companies. There are currently three senior managers from Maersk, and an
agricultural specialist sponsored by the Danish Agricultural Council. The former have
been provided under an agreement between Maersk and the Danish MFA to the effect
that they will not pursue commercial opportunities for their company whilst working for
ORHA. That said, they have focused their attention - and expertise - in the areas where
future business may be forthcoming eg the ports, transport and infrastructure, and they
will be free to pursue commercial ventures upon completion of their contracts. Contract
lengths varied in from a few weeks to 6 months. The individual sponsored by the
Agricultural Council is also assigned to ORHA but is encouraged to write reports for the
Council, give presentations etc which can then be disseminated more widely amongst
Danish companies interested in business opportunities in the agricultural sector. There is
no pretence amongst Danish colleagues here that this is arrangement of mutual benefit. I
am writing separately about our requirements for additional experts but, seen from here,
the Danish model is an excellent one and something we should copy. From an ORHA
perspective it provides exactly the sort of project managers we need in areas of particular
need, whilst laying the groundwork to stimulate the commercial sector which will help
sustain the economy in the longer term. From a national perspective, such an
arrangement could help British industry to help itself whilst simultaneously contributing
to the British effort.
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Dasta that this is an area l am keen to engage in.
The situation is far worse than I had
imagined. A large proportion of the female population wear Abaia (estimates vary from
50%-80%) and, although a small number of women work as teachers, clerks, bank tellers
etc, we hear tales of women being sacked - post war - on the orders of the clerics. I have
also heard several reports of so-called honour killings, the most recent today involving
three female members of the same family. (I am working with the military police who
are tasking the local police to have these crimes investigated but there is a long way to go
with a population which takes turns a blind eye to such matters.) Women here are down-
trodden, afraid and pre-occupied with basic survival. Their menfolk tell them what to
wear and to whom they can talk. Those I have spoken to do not wear the abaia by choice
but because without they risk physical abuse and being ostracised by their husbands and
fathers. I have made contact with a member of Iraqi Women for Peace and Democracy,
based in London but currently working in Basra (being reported separately) and through
her I am attempting to reach out to other women with a view to establishing their
priorities eg widows' pensions hitherto paid by the previous regime; exploring ways to
tackle issues of mutual interest eg honour killings, and crime; and ways in which ORHA
and the Coalition/ORHA can better communicate and consult with women. I also have
a plan to use a Quick Impact Project to set up an office run by Iraqi women for Iraqi
women in ORHA's new premises in order to facilitate such contacts. Amb Olsen
supports this initiative wholeheartedly. I am also on the lookout for potential candidates
of political office although such is the pre-occupation with the basics of life eg clean
water, electricity, together with the climate of repression, that I do not expect to make
early progress.
The key pre-occupation of Olsen for the last few days has been the setting up of the
Basrah Interim Governance Committee (spearheaded by Comd 7 Bde). In theory a
committee of technocrats to get the essential services up and running, the process has
been hijacked by political parties intent on making the process a political one. We are
equally adamant we are not prepared to switch the focus of attention from providing
essential services to politics and are equally clear we are not going to give centre stage to
unelected unvetted power-grabbers. Today's inaugural meeting broke up having got no
farther than the introductory speeches - it is not clear when it will be reconvened and the
locals are holding participation hostage to early elections.
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