Molly Phee shares Iraq experiences with PC students

On Tuesday, Oct. 12, students and professors from the Political Science Department gathered to hear Molly Phee, who spent eight months serving as a diplomat in southern Iraq, speak about her experience and the state of the war-torn country.

In the lecture, entitled "A Provincial View: The Political, Economic, and Security Aspects of Transition in Iraq," Phee said that when the United States and United Kingdom took control of Iraq as occupying forces, they also took control of the country's resources in order to use them to rebuild Iraq. As part of the rebuilding process, Foreign Services sent officers to each province to assist in establishing a provincial government and to act as a representative of Ambassador L. Paul Bremer, Administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority. Phee worked in Maysan, a province in southern Iraq from October 2003 to June 2004.

When she arrived on the scene, the province was in shambles. The police chief had been assassinated the week before, and there was no provincial governing council. Because the area was inhabited by the oppressed Shi'ites, Saddam Hussein had withheld money and infrastructure from the province during his regime. The residents were excited to see the UN workers, but with the happy greeting came high expectations. "They had tremendous expectations about what the United States could do," she said. "They thought that we could perform miracles in a very short time."

Though the work that the rep-resentatives did took considerably more effort than the wave of a magic wand, they did work hard to rebuild and secure the province. Building the infrastructure and creating job programs similar to some that were used in the United States during the Great Depression, cost about $22 million.

In addition, the UN workers established a provincial council. They were not allowed to hold direct elections, because they were not taking place nationally at that point. But they did set up a council, elected in a manner somewhat similar to our own Electoral College system.

Phee worked closely with the military during her time in Iraq, especially the Civil Affairs Military Team, a group of mostly Reservists with special skills sent post-conflict to help rebuild an area. She said that the main challenge for the military was figuring out how to inset itself between violent rebel groups and the terrified community. She and the military worked closely with Iraqis to use resources effectively, to establish stronger political institutions, and, most importantly, to secure the region.

Since this was the first time she had worked closely with the military in a diplomatic situation, she said that going in she didn't know what to expect.

"I thought they'd have the answers to security, but quickly learned that no one has the answers to security...I don't think anyone could have been entirely prepared in a situation as complex as Iraq." Security has been one of the most pressing problems in the country since the invasion by coalition forces, a point hit home by the fact that before she left for Iraq, she was sent to have a blood test. "The reason they wanted to do a blood test was they wanted my DNA in case I got blown up."

Phee explained that whenever a country is occupied, the occupiers are viewed with suspicion, and that problem is often exacerbated when East meets West. "They think that we're genuine imperialists coming to tell them how to live their lives. They think all Western women are Britney Spears." The chasm between the cultures was narrowed because Phee speaks Arabic. She described herself as a "student of Islam," and said she used her knowledge of Islamic traditions to convince Iraqi leaders that she did not need to wear a veil over her hair.

She did, however, respect the custom of women being covered in public to some extent: she wore long-sleeved, loose-fitting clothing that covered her from her neck to her ankles. She told the Iraqis that she thought Islam was a great religion, but that she thought that her own Christianity was a good religion as well, and that she had been taught that it was not necessary to wear a veil. She told them that she would respect their religion if they respected hers. "I believe that one of the great tragedies of our time is lack of tolerance for other views," she said.

The situation in Iraq is far from secure, but it has come a long way since October 2003 when the Foreign Service officers arrived on the scene. "The media is so limited...they're mostly in the Green Zone" near Saddam's palace that is generally considered secure.

But Phee saw Iraq first-hand and said that under the regime, "they couldn't really think, couldn't really speak, they were scared to talk about politics even at home." People were afraid to get involved in local politics. But thanks to some local people who were in favor of democracy, a provincial governing body did get off the ground.

There is however, a footnote to this seemingly happy ending. Since Phee left the province this summer, the members of the council have been intimidated out of their positions and replaced with members of opposition groups. Phee didn't seem especially surprised. "You can't establish a rule of law if the people with the guns have all the power."