I first got a hold of Rasul, a staffer who worked closely with me on issues pertaining to the committee responsible for the administrative relationships between the Provincial Council and Baghdad's local district and neighborhood councils. He assured me that he was fine, but many of his co-workers were injured in the blast, some of them fatally.
I also spoke with Faisel Shuber, a district council member from one of Baghdad's suburban villages and one of my oldest friends in Baghdad. He had just come from meeting with PC member Mohammed al-Rubeiy and district council member Kadem al-Shimary; he said they were fine and that none of the current PC members were killed in the blast. As Sunday is the beginning of the workweek in Baghdad, this is extremely fortunate -- not only for those individuals and their families, but for the functioning of local government in Baghdad.
The council reportedly met at their usual weekly meeting on Tuesday, but at a different location -- to demonstrate their resolve in the face of a terrorist act specifically targeting them and their efforts to rebuild their capital. Another friend of mine from the Adhamiya neighborhood, Omar al-Rahmani, said he was on his way to the council building at the time of the blast and therefore narrowly missed possibly becoming one of the hundreds of casualties in these attacks. He assured me that Ms. Shatha al-Obedie, longtime media spokeswoman for the provincial governor, was not injured in the blast. Omar did explain how the blast at the Ministry of Justice also levelled a local kindergarten, adding to the horror of the event. Families have been searching for their children in the rubble over the past week. Please take a moment to offer your thoughts and prayers to the victims of this attack, and wish the people of Baghdad the fortitude to maintain their resolve in the face of the continuing challenges they face.
In other news about friends and colleagues in Baghdad, I am sad to post that former Baghdad Provincial Council member Dr. Kamel al-Shabibi passed away last week. He had traveled to the U.S. to undergo heart surgery, but suffered a heart attack before reaching surgery. He spent his last days with the family of his brother, who as an American citizen who has lived in the States for decades since emigrating from Iraq, worked at the US Embassy as an agriculture advisor to the reconstruction effort.
.JPG)
Dr. Shabibi was a fabulous gentleman, and was widely considered the "elder statesman" of the Provincial Council during his term, which overlapped my tours in 2005-06 and again in 2007-08. Respected for his wisdom and candor in a volatile environment sorely lacking in both, he served as an excellent moderator between the US Embassy and the Baghdad provincial government throughout many difficult situations. He was gracious with his time; weighing in on the heaviest issues complicating our joint reconstruction efforts as well as just being an enjoyable presence at our more social gatherings. A number of us gained extraordinary insight into Iraqi culture and politics just by having some tea with him; his overall impact on our reconstruction efforts is incalculable.
He was an extraordinary presence in the drive to improve access to microfinance in Baghdad, bringing capital to Baghdad's new generation of entrepreneurs and building strong institutional relationships between the Provincial Council and Baghdad's local district councils. While rarely touted as one of the critical components of the "surge" strategy that pulled Baghdad back from the brink of civil war in 2006-07, these economic initiatives, led by courageous individuals like Dr. Shabibi who refused to submit to naysayers and doubters, were instrumental -- and will continue to have an impact on the long term development of Baghdad and the wider Middle East.
He will be remembered as a friend, as a confidant, as a negotiator, as a leader, as a patriot, as a visionary, and as a generous man and a kind soul.
(In the photo above, I am standing to the left of Dr. Shabibi. We were attending a training sessions for new council members at the Rashid Hotel in early 2007.)
