VZCZCXRO0533
PP RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #0856/01 0801505
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 201505Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6359
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 000856 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O.12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREZ IZ
 
SUBJECT:  PRT TEAM LEADERS CONFERENCE - LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE 
TEAM LEADER PERSPECTIVE 
 
¶1. On March 3 and 4, the embassy's Office of Provincial Affairs 
(OPA) hosted the second quarterly Provincial Reconstruction Team 
(PRT) Team Leaders Conference in Baghdad.  The conference details 
are found in SEPTEL.  Within the body of the conference, however, a 
separate closed-door session was held in an environment where team 
leaders could freely discuss lessons learned in their respective 
provinces, and to share their recommendations on how the increase 
the opportunities of success for PRTs during the rest of 2008.  This 
cable covers the most salient points and discussions of this special 
session. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
SOFT POWER SOLUTIONS, MILITARY, AND TEAM DYNAMICS 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶2. The Team Leader for PRT Muthanna opened the session by describing 
his province, about the size of Maine, as one of the largest in 
Iraq, but with one of the smallest population bases of about 700,000 
inhabitants.  Characterized as heavily tribal influenced and one of 
the poorest provinces, the Team Leader discussed his quote Soft 
Power Solution unquote along with the team mantra, Waging Peace 
Together.  The key to PRT success: setting up the PRT in Working 
Groups in order to arrive to collective solutions and courses of 
actions, and making wide use of QRF for targeted projects that would 
have the most impact, such as water distribution and veterinarian 
services.  The response from civil society, especially from the 
sheikhs and even from children, has been overwhelming and has 
validated the approach by this team. 
 
¶3. The Team Leader for PRT Diyala offered a similar team dynamic but 
in a vastly different operating environment.  He described the 
province dominated by the Sunnis with a population of about 1.6 
million inhabitants.  Most recently, the province experienced 
significant kinetic operations by MNF-I and Iraqi forces.  The 
governor, as explained by the Team Leader, has been the target of at 
least eight attempts on his life during the past year, further 
underscoring the special challenges faced in Diyala.  Despite these 
security issues, the PRT has managed to set up temporary operations 
in the government center, staying there at least five nights per 
week to work as closely as possible to their Iraqi counterparts. 
This presence, the team leader pointed out, is possible only through 
the support of the US military that is responsible for all their 
ground movements. 
 
¶4. Similar to the working groups for Muthanna, PRT Diyala has formed 
themselves into six subgroups covering areas such as governance, 
infrastructure, economics, and public health.  Teamwork at the 
brigade level, the team leader explained, is the only way the team 
can function in the province, and a solid working relationship 
between the team and the military is absolutely essential.  The 
province was further described as Iowa cornfields to the north, with 
ghost towns dominating the south.  This environment creates its own 
set of challenges as the PRT pushes to extend its reach away from 
the government center and to the province outskirts through the 
formation of small, temporary satellite offices.  This concept has 
proven to be the only viable means to reach local government and 
sub-provincial population centers, and can be replicated in other 
provinces as a force multiplier to reach beyond the government 
center.  Again, this success is possible only through the 
coordination and cooperation of the US military. 
 
¶5. The last team leader, from ePRT Baghdad 2, offered yet another 
perspective of the PRT world.  Centered in a densely populated 
section of Baghdad, with a population of about 2 million persons, 
the team leader described his zone as the land of CERP, with QRF 
serving as a vital follow-on fund source.  His typical programs 
covered education, health, youth and sports, agriculture, and trash 
mitigation.  Other key activities in this ePRT zone included small 
business training, trade shows, a farming cooperative, and conflict 
mitigation.  An example of the latter included an Iftar event 
sponsored by the ePRT for local leaders and civil society. 
 
¶6. The team leader found that micro purchases were both an 
invaluable resources as well as one of his biggest challenges, as 
the requisite documentation and oversight procedures required 
significant team attention.  Nevertheless, the above programs, with 
additional emphasis on employment generation and job placement, kept 
the ePRT fully occupied in areas that are essential to that section 
of Baghdad.  Additional discussion on budget execution showed that 
although the municipal staffs have received training and are trying 
to spend their funds, many skill gaps still exist that need to be 
filled in order for the system to properly function.  The team 
leader also stated that the system must remain fully transparent in 
order for his section of Baghdad to progress to a higher level of 
competency and efficiency. 
 
------------------------------------- 
SEEKING SOLUTION THAT CROSS PROVINCES 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. The open forum that followed the presentations revealed some keen 
 
BAGHDAD 00000856  002 OF 002 
 
 
insights as well as supported the theme for State and military 
mutual support.  Part of the discussion centered on the lengthy 
common boarder that Iraq shares with its neighbors, and 
understanding the reality that traditional trade partners will 
likely continue despite past or current political tensions.  Given 
that reality, the capacity to conduct legitimate trade remains a 
valid concern and should be supported.  In some areas, the aftermath 
of kinetic operations was followed by the realization that some 
areas lacked a history of U.S.-funded governance programs, leaving 
such places at a disadvantage.  Diyala, for example, was impacted in 
this manner, yet the team has strived to establish a strong 
relationship with the provincial government, and sought inventive 
ways to make up for lost time.  Finally, the advantages of working 
directly with the U.S. military battalions, and the military 
reliance in some cases on the ePRT to support their strategic 
planning process, provided yet another example of the mutual 
coexistence between State and US military units. 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶8. Despite packing three days worth of meetings into two, OPA 
decided that the team leaders needed time together to discuss common 
issues, learn about successes and mistakes, and forge new alliances 
needed in this unique working environment.  This special session was 
worth the effort, and will certainly be repeated in the next Team 
Leaders conference. 
CROCKER