A U.S. Army soldier watches as gravel is dumped in the river to create a ford over a river near the Iraq-Iran border, Iraq, Sept. 22, 2009. The soldiers are assigned to Company C, 9th Engineer Battalion. A bridge over the stream had been washed away by recent rains and the ford allows Military Transition Teams to conduct training with Iraqi border guards. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Brien VorheesAfter Six Years, 'We're Worthless' -- Washington Post
Iraqis on U.S.-Created Local Councils Feeling Vulnerable as American Pullout Looms.
BAGHDAD -- Weeks after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in the spring of 2003, as parts of the capital were still smoldering, American soldiers and diplomats turned to men like Hassan Shama and Omar Rahman Rahmani in their quest to plant the seeds of representative democracy.
In Baghdad, Iraq's capital, they held impromptu neighborhood caucuses to appoint district and neighborhood advisory councils. The local government bodies were given no official charter, lawmaking power or public budget.
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