A great New York Times story about the deft improvisation our troops have been able to do when it comes to civil affairs in Iraq. One reason they’ve had to do so much of it: the international aid organizations cut and ran. As the Times puts it:
“But military commanders here expressed frustration that most international aid organizations have not returned in force since the bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad last summer.
’The N.G.O.’s have been a disappointment,’ said Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the 101st Division, speaking of nongovernmental organizations. ‘Don’t get me wrong, the truck bomb at the U.N. headquarters was horrific. But they seemed as if they were very, very quick to bail out of here, compared to the risks they have run in a variety of other missions.’”