Rebuilding Iraq

Another surprising story on Iraq - this from the San Francisco Chronicle:

Amid the car bombings, ambushes, kidnappings and general death and destruction in Iraq, there is the question of where to put the generator.

The District Area Council wants it out back, in the unused parking area.

The Government Information Office -- the GIC -- wants it on a concrete slab in the middle of the courtyard.

The difference is about 5 feet. But this is an important issue to the Iraqis who run the place. The GIC takes up space on the council's grounds. And it's the GIC's generator, a brand new one, as opposed to the older, less-efficient model used by the DAC.

It's up to an Army officer, a reserve major named Harry Klein, to work it all out.

"I can't believe I'm spending the whole afternoon dealing with this," Klein says, as he walks with an interpreter into the courtyard.

Feel the pain?

It's not the duration of the shooting that will determine our departure timetable from Iraq. It's the stabilization of the country, a concept that encompasses a broad spectrum of details. Good to see progress, however slow. And of course, it's hard for the enemy to win hearts and minds when they fight against this sort of thing.

Now, way off that topic, what are they trying to say about the racial composition of the Infantry in this burried passage?

You don't get medals for this kind of soldiering. But it might be the most important work done by ground troops in Iraq.

Senge said the civil affairs team for 3rd Battalion is one of the most diverse he's seen -- African American, white, Latino and Asian.

"I think it helps," he said. "I think people over here see that we're a diverse bunch, and that we look a little more like them than the average soldier. I think that might make them feel a little more comfortable with us."

David Chong, half Jewish, half Asian American, said he likes working with civil affairs because it's unconventional. "You're not just shooting people," said Chong, who is headed to UC Berkeley when he leaves the Army. "You're working for the good of the entire country."