Jean Geran is a senior fellow at the Legatum Institute. She served as the director for democracy and human rights on the National Security Council at the White House and as an abuse prevention officer on the US Disaster Assistance Response Team in southern Iraq. On a weekend when we have been remembering those who sacrificed their lives on D-Day in 1944, Jean takes the opportunity to show her appreciation to the British military, especially those who have served in Iraq over recent years.
To Members of the British Armed Services,
As an American now living in London who worked in Iraq, it was very poignant for me to watch the ceremony in March marking the end of your combat service there. It reminded me of those early days of the conflict in 2003 when I was serving as an Abuse Prevention Officer on the civilian U.S. Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART).
We were the first civilians to enter Iraq as secured areas became permissive, and we were charged with overseeing the provision of humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people. On our first trip into the port of Um Qasr just over the border from Kuwait, we met then Lt Col Buster Howes of 42 Commando Royal Marines. Our small unarmed team had been escorted across the border by heavily armed U.S. Marines, but Lt Col Howes and his men had already put away their heavy armour and battle weapons to be more accessible and to build trust with the local population.
He welcomed us warmly, probably because he knew the importance of getting assistance and aid flowing to Iraqis as quickly as possible. Sadly, I fear he may have ended up frustrated with us as our civilian aid systems were not set up to move money quickly in places where no NGOs were functioning. Though progress has been made over the years, the challenges of post-conflict reconstruction and civilian-military coordination continue to hinder our collective efforts in fragile states around the world. This is an area where we all must focus on collaborating more effectively and improving our support for Iraqis, Afghans and all those others struggling to rebuild their own countries.
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