VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHGB #1670 1750655
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 240655Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3623

UNCLAS BAGHDAD 001670 
 
SIPDIS 
 
Please pass to NEA/SCA/EX Director William Haugh from OPA Director 
to request assistance in retransmitting as an ALDAC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: APER IZ
SUBJECT:  Leadership Opportunities in Iraq PRTs 
 
¶1. Embassy Baghdad OPA requests that NEA/EX transmit following as 
ALDAC. 
 
¶2.  Dear Senior-level Colleagues: 
 
¶3.  We ask you to consider a position as Team Leader of an Iraq 
Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT).  Success in Iraq remains a 
vital component of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, and the 
PRTs are central to President Obama's Iraq strategy.  The State 
Department continues to need the very best to serve as PRT leaders 
to ensure that our effort in Iraq remains strong. 
 
¶4.  Our mission in Iraq, as laid out by the President, is clear: an 
Iraq that is sovereign, stable, and self-reliant.  Iraq PRT Leaders 
are at the forefront of shaping the U.S.-Iraqi relationship at the 
provincial and local levels and working to achieve these goals.  We, 
your predecessors, have laid some of the groundwork, but the mantle 
needs to be taken up by individuals ready for the challenge of 
serving in a leadership position in Iraq. 
 
¶5.  As current and former Iraq PRT Leaders, we are proud to have 
worked in one of the most critical and challenging environments for 
U.S. foreign policy.  Some of us have even taken up the challenge 
more than once because we sense the importance of the mission.  We 
understand that our Iraq effort is a long-term commitment and that 
success in this endeavor is nurtured by the PRTs. 
 
¶6.  As a PRT Leader you may enjoy more autonomy and responsibility 
than at any other time in your Foreign Service career.  The work is 
intense, exciting and dynamic.  You can see and appreciate the 
tangible difference your work is making.  It is not an exaggeration 
to say that the success of our strategy in Iraq will depend on you 
and your team.  That is why PRT members who serve in Iraq leave with 
the feeling that their tour was among the most professionally and 
personally rewarding things they've ever done. 
 
¶7.  As diplomats in an increasingly "expeditionary" Foreign Service, 
we encourage you to bid on these positions which will afford you a 
once in a lifetime leadership experience.  Again, thank you for your 
consideration.  We invite you to ask us any questions you may have. 
 
¶8.  Respectfully, Current and Former Iraq PRT/REO/ePRT Team Leaders 
 
Ted Andrews 
Jess L. Baily 
John Bass 
Kevin Blackstone 
Thomas F. Burke 
Pasquale Capriglione 
Donald Cooke 
Philip Egger 
Paul Folmsbee 
Dan Foote 
Richard Hawkins 
Ken Hillas 
Darrell Jenks 
Howard Keegan 
Glen Keiser 
John Kincannon 
Michael Klecheski 
Alex Laskaris 
Brad Lynch 
John A. Matel 
Gary Mignano 
Cameron Munter 
John Naland 
Paul O'Friel 
Andy Passen 
Mark Powell 
Robert Reed 
Angus Simmons 
Anthony Spakauskas 
David Stewart 
Lucy Tamlyn 
Michael Thurston 
Eric Whitaker 
George White 
Timothy Zuniga-Brown 
 
Ford