JVB Hotel, luxury in Baghdad

A change in travel plans made it possible for me and Phin to stay at the JVB Hotel at Camp Victory across from one of Saddam’s palaces.

 It was one of Saddam’s favorite places to hold meetings and the place his last interview on network TV was held before

 he was hanged. The chair he sat in for the interview remains and is used by guests. The luxury is eerie but welcome. It isn’t a five star hotel anymore as the stars above the grand entranceway claim. It has bunk beds in the roomsand serves food brought in from the main mess hall, but high ceilings, lush curtains, elegant furniture and marble floors offer unexpected elegance fitting of a five star hotel.

             

 Compared to some of the accommodations here, maybe the five star rating does still hold.Visiting dignitaries, VIPS,and special guests like us who end up stuck at Camp Victory use the hotel. A group in a think tank looking into an early withdrawal from Iraq mandated by congress (stared under Bush’s administration) is here. The Buffalo Bills cheerleaders, who are spending a week in Iraq performing stayed in the room across from me. A team of comics sent over by Lone Wolf Entertainment, who often perform for the troops were here too. WeI interviewed Olivian Arrington and Mo Amer about what it is like performing in Iraq.  The 1-124 CAV from Dallas TX is running the place during their time in Iraq.

image description-bottom up- Phin Percy outside hotel on veranda overlooking manmade lake and Palace, Olvia Arrington and Mo Amer ( comedians) , the rest Cheerleaders and me at the hotel

Eco-Terrorism- notes on Iraq’s Marshlands and a visit to Basra University

Saddam Hussein used eco terrorism against the Marshland Arabs and the people of Basra after the Gulf War, punishing them for helping coalition forces.He stopped the water flow to the marshes turning the land into a desert. The Marshland Arabs were subsistence dwellers. After their way of life was destroyed many moved to the cities: others languish in a state of poverty in destitute villages on what had been fertile ground. Basra’s average temperature has risen and crime has flourished.

The Marshland is in the process of being restored, though not in a scientific manner. Shortly after Saddam's fall, many of the dams were broken restoring water to the area. Wildlife returned and the landscape has begun getting green again. Whether the area can ever be fully restored or even maintain the status quo is in question. There is a constant battle for water rights. Dams in Iran are now blocking the flow of what came naturally to the Marshland.
Early in January, CMOC (Civil Military Operation Center) sponsored a Marshland Conference in Basra. In attendance were businesses leaders and scientists who have a stake in the Marsh. The keynote speaker,Dr. Mohammad Mossa Omran pointed out, “Birds don’t carry passports,” The loss of the Marshland is not only Iraq’s loss but also one for the global community.

CMOC is aiding some of the village in hope of influencing the population by giving out blankets and heaters and building a community center and school in Rota Village. The Marshland is on the border of Iraq and Iran and the Marshland Arabs have traditionally been smugglers. CMOC is trying stop the flow of weapons and insurgents from Iran by giving the citizens new possibilities and a stake in their community.

At the conference I met Kassem Hawal, an Iraqi filmmaker who has what might be the only film footage of what the Marshland was like before Saddam destroyed it. He also has footage of the bulldozers filling the waterways. Kassem’s work was destroyed by Saddam's regime, except one reel he recovered and restored. His camera work is stupendous: long steady shots of the marsh and its inhabitants including a wedding procession on the water. Kassem can be reached at www.kassemhawal.com

Also at the conference was director of Basra’s Natural History Museum, Prof. Dr. Khalat-Al- Rabaae, and Professor Sadek A. Hussein, an ichthyologist at Basra University and Dr. Mohammed Al-assadi, Dean of the Science College. The Natural History museum was bombed to the ground. One remaining specimen remains at the university. The director is hoping the coalition will help him build a new museum. The University has a small collection of natural history specimens left.

To visit the University took creative maneuvering. Military are not allowed on campus. A Sheik’s son, his translator and a bodyguard (nicknamed Pringles) escorted us. They joined in on a tour of the College of Agriculture, the home of the natural history collection. There is a room of fish with about twenty specimens, a room of instects and a room with a herborarium collection comprised of specimens collected by the schools dean. I met and inteviewed students and faculty. Some are studying invasive species, others, botany and molecular biology. They all do field work and shared images of the sites they have collected species in.

I plan to make it a trip to the Marshlands in the coming weeks and document the eco system and villages myself.

Images are all from Basra University's School of Agriculture

Election Results read at Press Conference at the Al Rasheed Hotel

The winners names were read out province by province by members of the election committee during a press conference in the Al Rasheed Hotel. The biggest winner in the Iraqi elections was the Iraqi prime minster as his allies took most of the open positions. The fundamentalist party lost most all the ground they had won in 2005. Some are crying foul play.
The speakers could barely be seen over the mics. Wires ran all over the hotel. Great atmosphere in the hotel. If I pass through again I'll make sure to have a coffee there.The conference was packed, I slipped out early after taking some shots of the podium overloaded with microphones.

iraqi election comes off without a hitch

Iraq's elections went off without any major problems, a great sign for Iraq and its chances of retaining democracy. The religious fundamentalists parties didn’t win any seats. 65% of the voters turned out, way more than I had been told were expected. It was a proud day for Iraq.

I got to join General Muhammad’s entourage, having a chance to walk the streets of Basra without my Kevlar and truly mix it up. There were countless Iraqi Army forces lining the streets to protect the general, streets blocked off along his whole route. We stopped at three different voting stations. People were visibly proud and exuberant while exercising their right to vote. All voters had to dip their finger in purple ink to prevent people from voting twice. Everyone I asked to photograph held up their finger with pride. I felt the same sense of hope from people in Basra during the election as I did in NYC during the presidential election. When I asked about how they felt about Obama I got big smiles and thumbs up too.

Update from Basra: Iraqi elections begin

Elections started on Jan 28th in Iraq, It is the day the military votes. The general election is on the 31st. I didn’t manage to get myself in a position to cover the first part of the voting as getting around in Basra is not an easy affair; hence no images of the news. Instead I am posting portraits of some of Basra’s leading businessmen who have made the transition from heading state run companies to private ones. They are some of the leaders CMOC (Civil Military Operations Center) are working with in and around the city.

The city is shut down to any coalition military activity unless it is to back up Iraqi forces. I was out of luck since I didn’t have a pre-organized trip planed to cover this part of the election, but we will cover the general election. The hard-earned bloody victory from “The Charge Of the Knights” that restored the city to a state of relative stability has made the voting possible.
What does stability and safety translate to here? Getting off the base requires travel by convoy - the smallest convoy requires four vehicles, and if a VIP comes, that numbers more then doubles. Convoys are mixture of humvees, MRAPs and armored security vehicles, though the latter two are too big for some of the streets and do the opposite of keeping a military presence low key, a new policy being phased into practice. Movement regulation policies are in transition too, as are many other rules, since the Americans will take over from the Brits by the summer and have different approaches on many fronts. A tremendous amount of paperwork is required for every trip. Doing anything spontaneously is highly improbable but times and days of travel, change without notice.

Up until a few months ago, any trips off base were risky. Now they transpire without incident, enabling branches of the military such as CMOC to get projects up and running, supplementing what the British started. CMOC and the British are working together – though there is undeniable rivalry from within. Each country has different priorities. Despite that, things are getting accomplished. Both the American and the British are getting parts of there agenda pushed through: all of which benefits the Iraqis. The focus of the military is on rebuilding society and stabilizing it, so the new government can run efficiently and keep control of Iraq.

With the Brits planning to pull out, they’re thinking about their legacy, according to Captain Robert Lansden, USNR . Basra is the place where most of the British forces have been stationed. Many Brits who I have spoken to are pleased with the degree of progress here. Colonel Dickie Winchester of the British Army only sees only good coming to Basra, as he trusts the foundation the coalition has built is strong enough to ensure a successful transfer of power. He believes the last step is to help build the police force and that the Americans have the know how - to train the civil police force, the job now of the National Guard. Lt. Colonel Sharky Ward too is proud of his work in Basra, especially about a monument that will be erected in the Al Hyyaniyah honoring victims of “Chemical Ali” who were forced by Saddam’s army to drink gasoline and then shot and left to die. The site their bodies were exhumed will have a new memorial.
Despite the fact Basra is relatively safe not all are convinced it will last. Some Iraqis have hope, yet others like Capt. Nazar of the Iraqi oil tanker Tiger, don’t. He has seen strife since the Irian Iraq war up till now. The port he uses, Khor Az Zubar, hasn’t seen any improvements for 30 years.


The more hopeful citizens are the ones that have received funds. After many broken promises money has swayed them, as does the kind of follow up CMOC is providing.
Abuld Altalid, who manages Ib Nmajid, Iraq's largest steel fabrication company received a contract to build a new bridge. It will replace the pontoon bridges Sadam Hussein built to purposely cripple the ports and is a source of pride to Basra. The new bridge, a source of pride in Basra, will open the way for a recovery of the economy of the region. Alulb’s factory sat dormant until Navy Captain Lansden who runs CMOC, met with his staff. Lansden understands the importance of rebuilding the local economy. He broke with the coalition’s policy of using foreign firms to rebuild Iraq by hiring Abuld’s company to build Basra’s new bridge.

Mr. Hussein Mohmud Abdullah, who is running for governor, runs the five ports. He too has hope in his country’s future. Money is flowing in his direction. The British put all of the funds into Un Qusar, Iraqi largest port. CMOC in currently trying to invigorate the other four smaller ports. Money is being made available at Al Makal Port (the first step fixing the cranes) and Khor Az Zubar where they currently they can only handle 14 ships a day.

Rebuilding and invigorating the economy, winning the hearts and minds of the people of Iraq, seems possible in Basra, as long as the money keeps flowing.

How many will come out to vote? About 10% of the population, I’ve heard. Safety isn’t the factor according to the Iraqi’s I have spoken with. They don’t believe their vote has any value so they wont participate. However, there are hundreds of positions open in Basra alone, and thousands of candidates running nationwide; evidently some Iraqis are vested in the process. A working democracy doesn’t come overnight (America, the torchbearers of democracy have some cleaning up to do in its’ own), nor does security, but Iraq is that much closer to both.

It is hard to see an end in sight for the need of coalition intervention to maintain stability in Iraq. From what I have heard and seen, safety is still relative, not reality.

images - top left to right- Ships at Um Quaser / Navy Captain Lansden at machine repair shop, part of Ib Nmajid factory in Basra/ Abuld Altalid manager of Ib Nmajib bottem- left to right Navy Captian Lansden at port Um Quaser/ Mr Hussien Mohmud Abdallh the assitnace for the director for all the ports/Navy Captian Lansden/ Capt. Nazar Iskander /Lt. Colonel Sharky Ward /Colonel (Dickie) Winchester / Cranes at Al Makal Port

Schools being aided by CMOC in Basra

I visited two school schools in Basra that are being helped by CMOC (Civil Military Operations Office) and passed by the site of a third where a 3 million dollar school is being built, overseen by Mott Macdonald, an engineering and development consultancy firm based in the UK.

One school in the Al Hyyaniyah (the projects of Basra) is extremely run down. The school has broken windows, no electricity, primitive bathrooms and garbage strewn in the stairwells.
Members of the insurgency are present in that part of town, along with abject poverty. Visiting the school is a security issue, but visiting the school in person is how CMOC assess the schools needs,and establishes an American hands-on presence visible in the neihborhood. Many unkept promises have been made in the recent past so people are skeptical when promised help anew, yet they are seeing first hand what CMOC is doing and are now very receptive.
The other school is a convent school run by the Dominican Sisters of Presentation in an area near Basra’s riverside. The convent school was recently renovated with American funds .I attended a ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the completion of the project. There are plenty of improvements the school would still like to make, but CMOC an only contributes to each recipient of its funds once. Part of the projects success was due to Sister Susanna who runs the school. She initiated the project by showing up at Camp Basra asking to meet with Mott Macdonald- and made sure things were done to her specifications once she got them to sign on to renovate the school. The school is colorful and clean, with a new tiled roof, bright murals and meeting rooms as well as giant TV’s.

Education is critical for all societies, especially one bombed almost to the ground.
In this instance some of American dollars are being spent wisely. I can't help but think about the schools in New Orleans, some that are still standing, but closed up and moldy. Why is there no money forthcoming for them?

images - from left to right- Convent school renovated, School stairway in Al Hyyaniyah, classroom in Al Hyyaniyah, Detail of teaching aid at convent school, Girl at school in Al Hyyaniyah, Girl at convent school, Boy at convent school, Classroom at convent school, Ribbon cutting ceremony at convent school, Boy at convent

CMOC- Civil Military Operations Center

I moved from Camp Charlie to Camp Allenby (both part of Camp Basra in Basra,Iraq) where the UK forces camp reside along with a few American officers. For the next two weeks Phin and I, are embedded with Navy Captain Robert Lansden who is the head of the civil military operations center, a bastion of optimism equipped with an American can do attitude. Lansden who heads the operation made the decision to come to Iraq not long after Katrina and has been here ever since using his knowledge of all
things maritime, from law to the environment, to help make a difference. During Katrina's aftermath, as Captain of the Pollux, Lansden acted heroically by turning the ship into a comfort and aid station, housing first responders, providing fuel to hospitals and doing what ever he could to assist those most in need. There are numerous parallels to the greater New Orleans region and Basrah province, including issues involving the wetlands, saltwater intrusion, the seafood industry, an active port and high levels of crime that breed in housing projects. Lansden believes working with Iraqis, helping them get on their feet from the ground up, is not merely
protocol, but the only way to give democracy a fighting chance in Iraq.

After five months of training an Iraqi team- Lansden's team rolls of the base each time with an Iraqi unit. All future coalition civil projects have Iraqi involvement, with the Iraqi's in the forefront whenever possible. One example is The Shatt Al Arab Bridge, which is the largest civil engineering project to date in Iraq, being built with Iraqi money is under the guidance of Capt. Lansden's team. Lansden believes this approach will prepare the Iraqis to continue after the Americans pull out.

Lansden team is very hands on. His team deals with civil projects as immediate need arises. If his team drives by a backed-up sewer, that is contaminating the city, they write up a report and propose a solution. VP elects Biden stopped first at Camp Basra on Jan 12 during his mission and met with Lansdsen. Programs like Lansden's illustrate the new stage the war is in- reconstruction and stabilization of Iraqi society . Utilizing Iraqi money due the current ecumenic crisis,is crucial to the
war effort now. To maintain Iraqis' newly formed democracy, the civic works are essential.

I will be going out with his team to photograph many of their current projects, including visiting the Arab Marshland people in the wetlands, the slums in Basra ( Al-Hyyaniyah- a project built on marsh land destroyed by Sadam Hussein to punish the Shiites), a water lock system needed for keeping salt water intrusion at bay, good will programs for Iraqi military ( set up by the American), to go to remote villages to hand out toys and blankets. I'll also be photographing are the site of The largest civil engineering project since the war began to be paid for with Iraqi funds, The Shatt Al Arab Bridge, and the Marsh Land conference (first of its' kind) on the Jan 18th .

The work of the National Guard are doing is one of the many factorsin the effort to stabilize Iraq now. The need for security continues. The National Guard provides it.

images- left me in front of my new room, 
right-Captian Landsen, Father Imad and LT1 Foud Younas looking at a rendering of the Shatt Al Arab Bridge after VP elect Biden's fact finding mission to Basra