LYDIA KHALIL
Forming an Iraqi Government

By Sean Smith
This article was printed in Abroad View magazine fall 2004

“It was one of those life-changing epiphanies you barely have time to contemplate,” said Lydia Khalil. Twelve months after graduating from Boston College in 2002 with an international studies degree, she was in Iraq.

For the next few months, Khalil journeyed throughout the country by jeep and helicopter helping to find and interview potential candidates for Iraq’s transitional governing council while serving on the policy staff for the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) under presidential envoy Paul Bremer.
During a brief return trip to the U.S. in September 2003, Khalil visited Boston College and reflected on her sojourn in Iraq. “The days are very long—more like weeks, actually—and the work is hard,” said Khalil, who is now enrolled in the Georgetown University Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. “But there was such an intensity and excitement there, a feeling that you were doing something completely new. I have felt very fortunate to be part of it. I graduated from college a year ago, and now I am watching history being made.”

Khalil had already earned herself a one-of-a-kind learning opportunity by landing an internship in the White House, where she worked with the Homeland Security Council. But when she heard that the Pentagon was forming a team to examine issues of governance in Iraq, she jumped at the chance. Only a few days after coalition forces entered Baghdad, Khalil was on her way with the CPA to help the Iraqis form a government from the ashes of Saddam’s regime.

She arrived to find a city of deserted streets, closed stores and offices and hot, dirty living conditions. There was little time for her to reflect, because the CPA was on an ambitious mission.
“We made a commitment to have the Governing Council’s membership draw broadly from Iraq’s religious and ethnic groups,” said Khalil. “That meant talking to prominent people in the different regions of Iraq to find out who would best serve as a representative on the council. You also had to keep up to date on the social and political developments and how they would affect the potential candidates.”

Given the lack of electricity and other difficulties, Khalil said that these tasks often had to be accomplished through less-than-conventional means. “Sometimes, the only thing you could do was drive around and literally ask people on the street if they knew where so-and-so lived.”

One trip took her and her CPA colleagues north to Kirkuk, by means of a Blackhawk helicopter, in search of a Turkmen representative for the council. The trip included a stop for a Fourth of July party hosted by a group of Kurds. Even as she and her colleagues pursued their long-term mission, they were reminded of the importance of paying attention to more immediate needs, no matter how slight. One day, a U.S. Army officer stopped by the CPA headquarters with an invitation Khalil could not refuse.

“He had been working with the local women to set up a craft fair, and so he asked if we would come,” she said. “We were happy to do that. You don’t want to be behind a wall typing out memos all the time. You have to be out and about in the neighborhoods so the people can see you for who you are and see that you’re interested in their lives.”

Khalil’s work also frequently took her to Baghdad University, including one occasion when a CPA colleague came to discuss redevelopment efforts with faculty and students. When a group of protestors suddenly arrived and attempted to disrupt the event, her colleague defused the situation by shaking hands with the leader and inviting him and his associates to participate.
Unfortunately, Khalil said, the coverage of the meeting by some of the media—many of them representing the Arabic press—left a lot to be desired.

“They kept asking the protestors leading questions, trying to foment their anger,” she explained. “They were more interested in the fact that the group had barged into the meeting, rather than the fact that they were invited to, and did, participate.”

Khalil is equally critical of the U.S. media coverage of Iraq. “Yes, there have been deaths and other incidents that are legitimate causes for concern. But the facts need to be presented in the larger context of development. There is a huge difference between what I saw in May and what I see now: The streets are crowded again, women are going out in public, and ministry buildings are reopening. It may be that the CPA needs to do more publicity for itself, so that the public gets a more complete picture.”

While Khalil was happy to visit with family and friends back home late in the summer of 2003, her enjoyment was tempered by news of the bombing of the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad. The explosion killed U.N. envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello, with whom Khalil had become well acquainted.

“It was a real loss for everyone, not just the U.N., but also for the people of Iraq,” she said. “I felt terrible not to have been there. The perception may be that the U.S. and U.N. were not working well together in Iraq, but from our perspective on the ground we did fine.”

Born of Coptic Christian parents in Egypt, Khalil and her family immigrated to the U.S. in 1984. She credits Boston College’s International Studies Program and the political science faculty for providing her with a solid educational foundation.

Boston College professor Donald Hafner said, “Lydia presents a perfect example of what we’re trying to accomplish in international studies. We’ve made the program more interdisciplinary so as to give our students multiple skills and sensitive antennae with which to explore and understand the international arena. Lydia has a keen eye for the situation in Iraq and the Middle East and a strong vision of progress, and we are very pleased to have played a role in her development.” AV —Sean Smith

Sean Smith is editor of the Boston College Chronicle. This article was reprinted with permission from The Boston College Chronicle.