Went out to the 'nice' section of Baghdad the other day to spend some time with Mohammed al-Rubeiy, a good friend - and one of the more prominent of Baghdad's municipal leaders. He is the Distict Council chairman for the Karadah district. Karadah is historically one of Baghdad's posh neighborhoods; it is a sliver of a peninsula carved by a bend of the Tigris and many of Baghdad's elite have riverfront property just across from the Republican Palace, where we do much of our Embassy business now. Mohammed told me that many prominent families in Karadah have owned two or three properties; now they are selling and leasing to whoever can afford the high prices in this relatively safe section of the city - safety is very much in demand these days. So business is good in real estate in Karadah, needless to say. Because of geography and demographics Karadah has remained fairly secure over the past few years, and the Karadah council is one of the best examples of functioning local government right now. Mohammed is a big part of that; he is tireless and completely dedicated to making Baghdad the city it shoud be. We had lunch and talked through his plans; he has aspirations for higher office. I did an interview with a reporter from Esquire yesterday; I am not sure what he is going to write about but he asked me about why I continue to work in this environment - how can I think that I will make Iraq's government better; I had to explain to him that as much as we try to remain detached and dispassionate about our work with provincial government - that in the end, much of it is personal - I am motivated in my work because at the end of the day I'm not so concerned about how Secretary Rice feels about my performance - I am driven by what I have done for men like Mohammed who are struggling to make this city a place they can be proud of. And so can we.
