With years of experience in policy development and management, Peter has designed and facilitated collaborative decision-making processes for many government entities. When asked to work in Iraq in mid 2003, he was serving as director and facilitator of the Metro Mayors Caucus, a non-profit organization of 32 mayors in the Denver area dedicated to working together on regional issues. Joe Rice, a mayor in the Caucus who had been called up to serve as an army reserve officer in Iraq, sent Peter an email telling him they needed his skills in Baghdad and requesting him to come to the city.
Peter had been against the war, but he admired Joe and thought perhaps he could and should help. He went to Baghdad in October 2003 where he found the area safe and the Iraqi people friendly. They knew what democracy was and they wanted it, but they didn't know how to administer it. Having been a secular country prior to the US military action against Saddam Hussein in March 2003, the Iraqis Peter encountered did not want an Islamic government. But as Muslims, they wanted a secular government based on Islamic values.
Peter used a collaborative, logical and comprehensive approach to develop democratic skills in people at all three levels of government in Baghdad. Baghdad and its surrounding areas function as 109 neighborhoods within nine districts, and the districts operate within the city. Peter met with residents in each neighborhood. Through a caucus they elected neighborhood leaders. Neighborhood leaders met weekly and made lists of needs to address. Each neighborhood also elected its representatives to the district. Districts elected city council members and also a provincial council.
Peter held training sessions for the elected leaders. He found the people liked coming to the training sessions, and a number repeated the training. Occasionally, American officials, including American Proconsul Paul Bremer, showed up to say a few words and make promises. Charters were drawn up. Peter was optimistic. In an email dispatch to a Denver-area newspaper, Joe Rice marked Peter's skill and the positive effect of his contribution on the Baghdad Councils:
For those of you that know Peter Kenney, the local government consultant from Colorado who worked here helping the Councils develop procedures and experience, you can definitely see his positive legacy. In Colorado, local government officials can call on the entire staff of the Colorado Municipal League. The Baghdad Councils had Peter for one year. It's amazing the difference he's made in that year and with continued email and phone contact.
With such a hopeful beginning in the Baghdad area for democracy, what happened to turn the country into the civil chaos of today?
Despite President's Bush's declarations that we must "stay the course," the US did not stay the course where it might have mattered. According to Peter, after the Coalition Provisional Authority returned sovereignty to Iraq on June 30, 2004, the US focus turned to supporting and safeguarding the Iraqi central government. Promises for funds and support made to the local governments were not kept nor would the US endorse the charters the local elected governments in the Baghdad area had collaboratively drawn up. US resources were directed toward shoring up the Iraqi central government and to hold the January 2005 national elections. With no resources and support, people at the local level willing to take on the challenges of democracy were left marooned in their quest for democracy.
Unemployment linked to US action has also been a major factor in the breakdown. When Paul Bremer dissolved the Iraqi Bath Party in May 2003, many Iraqis became unemployed. US contractors didn't hire Iraqis, ostensibly because of the security risk. However, because of the way they are reimbursed, contractors make more money if worker costs are higher, giving them no incentive to employ Iraqis, who overall cost less to hire than outsiders. Seeking information on terrorists, the US started paying for leads on terrorist suspects. Desperate, unemployed Iraqis began informing on each other, often with no real basis for the allegation. As traditional organizational and employment structures broke down, local militias filled the void, rose in power, and attracted terrorists from outside the country. Unemployed Iraqis hire on to these militias the way US day workers take on a day job. Led by the militias and outsiders, violence has become the employment of disenfranchised Iraqi workers.
Peter, who keeps in touch via email with friends in Iraq, sadly notes that of the 1,500 Baghdad Iraqis he trained, 300 have died. He has concerns that power will be divided unfairly in agreements for peace and lead to more strife. To end the war in Iraq fairly and honorably, Peter recommends the US and its coalition partners suggest and agree to a provision in the peace accords that they will not take oil from Iraq.
Having dedicated his life to helping people work collaboratively and develop consensus, Peter Kenney has likely often put aside his own preferences to achieve his aims, as he did when he went to work in Iraq despite being against the war. As a mediator, a facilitator, a person who has lost 300 colleagues, he adds wisdom to the information and debate we get on Iraq. We would do well to listen.
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Comments: 12
We are no longer the good guys in the world, and our efforts to fight terror and limit the spread of nuclear weapons will be hampered by the actions of these three zealots.
Bert, I agree that starting the war was a total mistake, a moral wrong. That was my view even before the pre-emptive attack on Iraq. You make a good point regarding the actions of US leaders hampering future efforts to contain violence in the world. The good news is that democracy worked in the elections. The people made a point and have held back more of the same governance.
troublemkr, I'm surmising you are not using the phrase "on the cheap" to mean inexpensively, but mean we've done things shoddily. Sadly, we face repairing shoddy administration in many areas.
Barry, I wouldn't be surprised if Osama is considering which young men he should send to Iraq.
Another issue which came to mind as I read your article is something that I've been thinking a lot about. Humans are not black-and-white creatures and most of the time, it's hard to make policy because we all see issues in differing shades of gray. For instance, you stated "the Iraqis Peter encountered did not want an Islamic government. But as Muslims, they wanted a secular government based on Islamic values." So, they are saying, we don't want a religious government, but we want a government based on religious values. If you asked 20 people to explain what that meant, I bet you would get 20 different answers. In America, we want complete separation of church and state and yet, we want the freedom for our religious leaders in the pulpit to tell their congregations who to vote for. Bush sees his legacy to America as giving the citizens more freedom, but now, I can't get on a plane without being searched like I did in the old days and he says he'll bug my phone if he wants to! He is not alone in this difficulty in communication. The vast majority of Americans aren't sure what they want, not totally. Why else would people have voted for Bush and now be yelling about Iraq? I knew before he was 'elected' the first time that he wanted to have his name on a war, as did most of the people I talked to, so this was no surprise. But, we like the words freedom and security and we don't usually have to look too carefully at what we mean by those words. Is there an answer to it all? I hope so. One of my constant prayers is for a miracle child to be born who will grow up craving peace and figure out how to inspire the rest of us to start living in it.