Okay, I can’t help myself. Here’s another story about getting things right in Iraq [via Virginia Postrel]:
“Lt. Gen. William S. Wallace, commander of V Corps, in charge of Army operations in Iraq, wanted to make an immediate difference in the lives of the people in Baghdad’s poorest neighborhoods. Long neglected or actively repressed by Saddam’s regime, they now were despairing because their trash was gathering uncollected in the streets, their police force had vanished, or was powerless to protect them from crime, drains were backing up, pure water was impossible to find and many other things were just going wrong while the governing occupation authorities promised much, but delivered little improvement. Wallace’s assignment was for Martin, as the corp’s engineer, to apply the Army’s engineering capabilities to help solve some of the people’s problems.”
…
“Spec. Jessica Schmitz, a mechanic with 561st Medical Co., 30th Medical Brigade, says she came to provide security for her unit’s dental clinic at the soccer stadium project. “I just wanted to come down and see this,” she says. “I think it gives purpose to what we’re doing.”
The story is so well written and flows so well, it’s hard to excerpt it in a meaningful way, so go read it.
