When villagers saw the cloud of dust from an approaching U.S. convoy, they hoped Iraq's new powerbrokers had come to solve problems: a broken well, a dilapidated school. But the U.S. soldiers, mindful that their eventual departure hinges on robust local governments, directed villagers to local officials and elected representatives — a mind-bending concept for Iraqis formerly accustomed to all power flowing from Saddam Hussein in Baghdad.
I like it that we are not merely trying to reform the center. Even a well managed center is a center that can be taken and misused as Saddam shows. But diffuse power and the habit of self-rule to the far corners of Iraq and a future strongman wannabe will have to contemplate more than just a palace coup to gain control of the country.
Bend their minds. Break the dependency on Baghdad.