EPILOGUE
APRIL 2019, BAGHDAD, IRAQ
I
realize that I declared up front that I’m all Iraq’d out. I really meant it.
You may recall that I also said with conviction that there was no way I’d
go through jump school following SERE training, and we all know how
that turned out.
Tarek and I just met up for another fun and Lebanese-food-filled week
in Beirut. The day after a wild drive to and from the Beqaa Valley for some
amphora wine tasting at the stunningly beautiful Château Kefraya (incon-
gruously located five minutes away from a truly depressing Syrian refugee
camp), we flew from Beirut to Baghdad to meet with our Iraqi colleagues
and key Iraqi business contacts.
As always, I have some good news and some bad news to share.
I am happy and more than a little astonished to report that Baghdad
has clearly turned a corner, and for the first time since the unwarranted
2003 invasion, I have real hope for Iraq’s future. For Iraqis themselves, that
is, and not just for foreign oil companies. Accompanied by Tarek, Hassan,
Omar, and my other beloved Iraqi colleagues, I spent the past week driving
around the sprawling, chaotic city, walking the streets, eating in restaurants,
and hanging out in modern shopping malls. I even spent some quality time
in the office. Much to my pleasant surprise, not once did I feel threatened as
I had during previous trips to Baghdad. (Tarek has been insisting Baghdad
is safe now for some time, but I’m a natural skeptic and I needed to find out
for myself.) As far as I could tell, I was the only gringo on the streets, but I
suspect westerners of all stripes will begin to pour into the city once word is
out that Baghdad is secure and really open for business. Private enterprises
abound, including luxury car dealerships, and glitzy, modern shopping malls
are springing up all over Baghdad like California poppies after a wet winter.285