by Bob Cassilly
Download the Full Article: Computer Aided Democracy (CAD)
The important roles computers and the internet played in stirring passions among activists in the Middle East come as no surprise to veterans of U.S. Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) in Iraq. Since the U.S. involvement in Iraq in 2003, computers have steadily emerged as indispensable tools of unlimited potential in development of effective, transparent, and democratic government.
When I first arrived in Tikrit as a PRT member in early 2006, Coalition efforts to computerize Iraq held a firm toehold but the process was still in its infancy. Coalition governments and nongovernmental organizations had furnished most Iraqi government offices with caches of desk top computers loaded with a basic Microsoft Office package. Unfortunately, many of the computers were unused and the remainder was employed almost exclusively for word processing. Internet connections were rare and the sporadic electrical service of only hours per day was sufficient to temper the enthusiasm of even the most ardent computer user.
My initial PRT assignment was as leader of a small, international team of "governance advisors" who comprised one of the PRT's four technical advisory sections. Our PRT was one of the State Department's 16, civilian lead PRTs, whose mission was to pushed forward into combat zones technical experts in governance, rule of law, economic development, political development, health, and reconciliation. They provided a level of front line expertise that would otherwise have been confined to the walled Embassy compound in Baghdad.
Download the Full Article: Computer Aided Democracy (CAD)
Bob Cassilly was the lead Governance Advisor on the PRT in Salah ad Din Province from April 2006 to April 2007 while serving as an Army JAG. From December 2007 to December 2008 he served as the U.S. Department of State Senior Governance Advisor on the PRT in Karbala Province and from July 2009 to August 2010 as the Senior Strategic Planner for the Office of Provincial Affairs, Embassy Baghdad. He is an attorney and former municipal mayor and county councilman from Maryland. The views expressed in this article are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of State or the U.S. Government.
