herbert docena_
By Matt Pascarella

(Porto Alegre, Brazil) The night before speaking with Sheik Khalesi I met up with Herbert Docena from Focus on the Global South, an NGO based out of the Philippines. Herbert was miraculously pulled out of Iraq just as it became very popular among the resistance to take foreigners hostage and decapitate them – leaving their bodies hanging from bridges. The Iraqi resistance, according to Herbert and others I spoke with, went after what they thought were foreign contractors coming into Iraq to set up shop.

It was fitting that Herbert and I were speaking on the night of the first Iraqi election. Herbert spent a lot of time in Iraq last year researching the role of US companies contracted by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to develop public administration sectors throughout Iraq.

Based on what he found while in Iraq, it seemed intuitive for Herbert to question the legitimacy of the historic election happening in Iraq that night. Herbert found USAID and private companies like Research Triangle Institute (RTI) were working for months to set up ‘leadership’ councils throughout the country. RTI, according to their contract with USAID, has been tracking down and organizing “legitimate and functional leaders” all over Iraq.

While it is not clear what exactly legitimacy and function really means, USAID and RTI – according to Herbert's research in Iraq, has been on a quest for leaders friendly toward, and willing to advocate on behalf of, American policies.

In his report, ‘Silent Battalions of Democracy’ Herbert writes, “… Near Sadr City, RTI and the military actually allowed residents to cast votes, but the candidates allegedly made sure that only their relatives, tribe members and friends knew about the voting. There was no general voters’ list.”

In Iraq, USAID and RTI's strategy didn't play out as well as they had planned. Instead, their vision of "legitimate and functional leaders" immediately provoked widespread violence. Overnight, the councils became popular targets for assassinations, kidnappings, and suicide bombings. The councils were now on the resistance's black-list alongside the foreign contractors. Council members, in fear for their lives, told Herbert they are targeted because, “We’ve been hand-picked by the Americans.”