Michael's Dispatches

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Published: Saturday, 18 August 2007 00:00

Baqubah to resume local food production

First large shipment of grain to Diyala mill celebrated

Story by Sgt. Patrick Lair
Photos by PV2 Kirby Rider and Sgt. Patrick Lair
Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
BAQUBAH, IRAQ— After the fight to retake an Iraqi city is over, the struggle to reconstruct a functioning government is the first order of business.

That’s why U.S. and Iraqi forces were excited recently to witness local trucks arrive, accompanied by the Iraqi Army, at a Baqubah flour mill with 560 tons of imported wheat to feed the people of Diyala Province.

“This is one more piece to the larger puzzle of providing normalcy here,” said Lt. Col. Fred Johnson, deputy commanding officer of the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. “It’s probably the most important thing we’ve done.”

The grain, imported from the U.S., will be milled, sacked and distributed to the local population as part of the Public Distribution System, an Iraqi program dating back to the 1980s. The program began during the Iraq-Iran War as a way for the government to provide necessities such as fuel, chai, sugar, flour, rice, tomatoes, soap and cooking oil to the people who need it. An estimated 45 percent of the people depend on these services.

When Al-Qaida took over Baqubah, the provincial capital, the distribution system largely collapsed. Truckers were afraid to haul the food, workers were afraid to show up to work, the mill closed and food prices soared, Johnson said.

“From our perspective, this city was done,” said Diyala Province Assistant Governor Amed, who withholds his full name for security reasons.

U.S. forces cleared the city of enemy insurgents earlier this year, often engaging in heavy combat operations from one street to the next. Iraqi and U.S. officials immediately set about restoring essential services and attempting to rebuild the people’s trust in local government.

“This city is making the transition from a ghost town to what it is today. What’s been done is phenomenal,” Amed said. In addition to autonomous food production, other changes can be seen. Sixty-seven stores in the downtown market have recently reopened their shutters. Water and sewer lines were repaired by the municipal government without U.S. financial support. Decreasing fuel prices have led to a rise in civilian vehicle traffic. Women, once forced by Al-Qaida to cover themselves in black veils, move about town in colorful clothing and families walk freely through the streets.

While the fight against armed combatants is highly visible, the fight to restore order often takes place behind closed doors, Johnson said. “The biggest problem has been our lack of understanding of how Iraq works,” the lieutenant colonel said. “Our ignorance of the system undermined our ability to provide what the people expected.”

The system of what people expect was learned through long conversations with local sheikhs and government officials, often in smoke-filled offices over cups of chai or seated around the family living rooms of local leaders.

“Dialogue is the key to what we’re doing here,” Johnson said. “But this is huge. Now that they see they can provide for themselves, we’re not needed here anymore.”
The Baqubah mill is expected to employ around 100 local workers in addition to truck drivers. At full production, the mill is capable of processing 200 tons of grain per day.