Hi friends,

I've been in Bdad for two months. In the real world, two months isn't much, but in Bdad time it is forever. Everybody in my immediate office (the Governance/Civil Affairs section of the Bdad Central Regional Coordinator's office, which is now part of the Political Section of the US Embassy) that was here when I arrived has "redeployed", save for two translators, an Army captain who is on vacation, and a Foreign Service officer who arrived this week. We've lost 3 Foreign Service officers, 12+ military folks, a translator, and several dozen Iraqi-Americans who had come under contract to work on reconstruction.

All this is by way of making excuses for not being a better correspondent, and more importantly trying to explain the chaos of the changeover from CPA to the Embassy. The worst is behind us, but it has been insane. People have been streaming out and in. Construction folks have been banging metal, rushing to bring the Palace, which we are using temporarily, up to US Embassy security standards. ID cards have changed. Computer people are working to switch us from the military to the State Dept computer system. Iraqi office workers under contract to CPA are busy trying to get Embassy jobs. The official "space plan" for redistributing office space still hasn't been released, so people wander the halls shopping for better locations for their offices. Nothing is certain.

The good news is that the Iraqi government has gotten off to a decent start. Not to be crass, but I have to say that people around here are surprised that none of the top Iraqi officials has been killed since the transition. The danger for them - and their bravery - is very real. The Prime Minister is being tough, which the Iraqis with whom I talk appreciate, without being brutal. The Governor and Mayor spend a lot of time whining to me and my boss about things that we should give them or do for them, but they are starting to take responsibility for their province and city. Plans are proceeding for the conference that will lead to a National Assembly. Serious work is just beginning to prepare for national elections in January.

And of course, violence is down.

So is life better for Iraqis? Probably yes, at least if you consider how bad things were. The traffic is flowing better as US military forces pull back and let the Police and National Guard run their cities. Big infrastructure projects that we are paying for (electrical plants, roads, sewer rehab) took way too long to get started, but they are starting to show results. We're finally learning how to work around Congressional rules, enabling us to spend more of the $18.4B aid package with Iraqi contractors, where it buys more and goes directly to Iraqis, and less with Bechtel and other US firms.

And of course, violence is down.

But the violence has not stopped. In the interest of telling all the tales that need to be told (worry-warts please stop reading for a few paragraphs), my convoy was attacked last week. It was a convoy with plenty of military escorts, bodyguards, and armored SUVs, but apparently we went down the wrong street.

It happened fast and we all tell the story differently, but basically it went like this. The bad guys threw 3-4 grenades and shot AK-47s at the armored SUV that I was in. The armor in the doors and windows worked (see photo). There were two bodyguards, a Navy Captain, and me in the car. None of us was scratched. The SUV's engine, however, was hit, and as we sped away, the car started to sputter a bit. The driver did a great job, and we got to the regrouping point, where we abandoned the car and jumped into other vehicles (see photo) for the ride back to the Palace. The systems and people all did exactly what they are supposed to do. It was only scary later.

Speaking of scary, I spent the last four days squiring Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs William Burns around Baghdad. Setting up and getting to meetings for someone like him is a nerve wracking job in a place where top officials don't have permanent offices or staff, where phones don't work 50% of the time, and where you can't just jump in a car and run over to a meeting. Fortunately A/S Burns is one of the great nice people of the world, and everything worked out.

Thanks to his visit, I got to hang out at the Prime Minister's office; got to have dinner with Ambassador Negroponte, A/S Burns, the director of the Iraqi National Museum, and a bunch of other interesting Iraqis; and got to helicopter up to Kirkuk (the edge of Kurdish country) for a day. This is why Iraq is fun sometimes.

That's enough for now. If you want to see a few more photos, see my Snapfish account: snapfish

I do have my own (half) trailer, so if any of you happen to be in the area, you should definitely stop by. I promise you a place to stay.

wish you were here,
rob