Another bit of good news that we never heard or saw. Enjoy!

District Advisory Council Dedication

by Sgt. Brent M. Williams, 49th Public Affairs Detachment (Airborne)

BAGHDAD, Iraq—Local Iraqi community leaders and neighborhood representatives
met with leaders of the 82nd Airborne Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team, part
of Task Force 1st Armored Division, to dedicate the grand opening of their new
town hall, the newest district advisory council building in Baghdad.

Distinguished guests and visitors from across Al Rashid as well as
representatives from the Coalition Forces and the Coalition Provisional
Authority (CPA) marked the grand opening of the Al Rashid District Advisory
Council Hall Oct 31.

The council hall is a monument to the spirit of brotherhood between the
Coalition and the Iraqi people, said 2nd Brigade Commander Col. Kurt Fuller.

“It is a testament to just how far we have come in a very short time," Fuller
said to those in attendance. “Together, the advisory councils, this airborne
regiment and the many citizens of Al Rashid have worked not only to fix all of
these problems, but put in place the processes and institutions that will allow
the improvement to continue.”

The building, a former hunting club frequented by Uday Hussein, is a memorial
for the soldiers and the citizens who gave their lives in the fight to liberate
Iraq, he explained.

The Al Rashid District Advisory Council was the first of the nine non-judicial
interim councils created under guidance provided by the CPA. Task Force Falcon,
the 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, began working with local leaders to create
the council in early May.

The council provides approximately 1.5 million people in Al Rashid, a district
in south Baghdad, the opportunity to address and resolve problems within their
communities, said Sgt. 1st Class Ronald P. McGraw, noncommissioned
officer-in-charge, 411th Civil Affairs Detachment.

The 15-room building, housing the advisory council and the Al Rashid General
Information Offices, will be a place where the citizens of Al Rashid can voice
their opinions and desires for the new Iraqi government.

McGraw, the Governance Actions Officer for the council, is coaching and
mentoring the chairman, vice chairman and staff of the advisory council to
assist the district leaders in the creation of the new democratic government.

Although the district advisory council is an interim council, the format for
their leadership is based upon a democratic government, said McGraw. Upon
finishing the Iraqi Constitution, voter registration, and a census, the Iraqi
people will be ready to hold democratic elections, which will make the council
truly representative of the people.

Working under coalition guidance, leaders of the Al Rashid district have spent a
considerable amount of time and money arranging for cleaner streets and
functional facilities, such as their power plant, oil refinery, medical care
facilities and schools within the communities, said Dr. Sami Ahmed, former
council chairman and guest speaker at the dedication.

“Following the collapse of the old regime . . . the citizens of our district
dedicated themselves to save their people, defying all difficulties to
facilitate the birth of this council for the new and early stages of democracy
and the new Iraq,” Ahmed said.

For the citizens of Al Rashid, their new town hall symbolizes the emerging
democracy in Iraq, a testament to what can be accomplished in the spirit of
brotherhood and humanity, said Ahmed.

“We seize this opportunity to thank the 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment for
their valuable assistance, making this building to be the meeting hall for the
Al Rashid District Advisory Council,” he said.

The Iraqi people have lived in oppression under the tyranny and evil of one man
for so long that their ideas of democracy and freedom were but dreams, said
Chairman Dr. Rashad Ali to his audience.

Because of the work of Task Force Falcon, the Iraqi dream “has become a tangible
reality,” and the Iraqi people will continue working for peace and prosperity,
he said.

The progress will improve as the work continues to improve the lives of the
Iraqi people, carrying them forward “for a better and more prosperous tomorrow,”
said Ali.

The people of Iraq are beginning to understand the terrorists and former regime
loyalists are a threat to all people and not just the coalition forces, said
Fuller at the ceremony.

“The cause of democracy and freedom for the citizens of Al Rashid district and
all Iraq has only begun,” Fuller explained. “Democracy is dynamic and the price
of freedom is eternal vigilance.”

The ceremony concluded as council members and coalition soldiers enjoyed food
and traditional Iraqi Ramadan games, breaking the day’s fast for their Islamic
holiday.

John
On the 'Poco Loco' out of Deale, MD