The Foreign Service Journal, March 2008

M A R C H 2 0 0 8 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 35 Editor’s Note: We recently sent an AFSAnet message inviting Foreign Service personnel who are serv- ing in Iraq or have done so recently to recount their experiences there. Some of their responses describe the physical, logistical and other challenges they face and how they have overcome or worked around them to do their jobs. Others focus on the texture of daily life in postwar Iraq. But they all exemplify the best traditions of the Foreign Service. Our thanks to all who shared their stories. — Steven Alan Honley, Editor A Y EAR W ELL S PENT In the fall of 2006, I was in the middle of an exciting temporary assignment to New York during the 61st session of the United Nations General Assembly when I received a call asking if I was still interested in Iraq service. I had ini- tially been interested back in 2004, when our Iraq project had a radically different tone; having observed developments there since, I had a lot of questions before volunteering again. F O C U S O N I R A Q , F I V E Y E A R S L AT E R W ORKING AND L IVING IN I RAQ Adam Niklewicz