SELINSGROVE — Baghdad was on the verge of anarchy when former Selinsgrove resident Dan Bisbee arrived in February 2007.

There was sectarian violence in the streets, with various religious groups fighting one another, suicide bombers an everyday threat, and everyone was shooting at Americans.

Survival was the prime concern.

By the end of his tour of duty last month, much had changed. Community services such as electricity and water were becoming available. The political parties were making deals with each other, not killing each other.

“The city government was discussing how many swimming pools would open,” he said. “They were holding policy debates.”

Bisbee was a U.S. Department of State employee, a member of the Provincial Reconstruction Team advising the government of the Province of Baghdad. He was one of about 100 American civilians, from the state, defense and justice departments, working with Iraqi-American translators and Iraqi professionals, helping the Iraqis in charge of the city and province to build their own democratic government.

Bids for attention

He first visited Iraq in February 2005 as a U.S. Army captain, working with Baghdad city officials as an officer in the Army’s civil affairs branch, and after his deployment to Iraq was completed, he went back as a civilian.

His job with the PRT coincided with the U.S. military surge in Baghdad, analyzing how the surge worked and how troops and U.S. civilians would be deployed in and around Baghdad.

From his time in the military, Bisbee was familiar with how the various factions worked. Their interactions and interests were much more varied than many in the U.S. understand.

“There are differences between the insurgents and the extremists,” he explained. “The insurgents want a change in government to their advantage, while the extremists want to destroy the government and replace it with their vision.”

In the simplest terms, Bisbee said, the violence is a bid for attention.

Sometimes the different factions work together if they have similar goals, but at other times they may fight one another. One example he cited was how some of the insurgent groups were allied with al-Qaeda earlier in the conflict but turned against al-Qaeda when they tried to enforce strict Islamic law.

“They weren’t interested in that at all,” he said.

Stability and credibility

Stability is coming to Iraq as the people recognize that its leadership is gaining credibility.

“When President Maliki decided on his own to go after the Saddrists in Basra and in Sadr City, that was huge,” Bisbee said. “The people want a strong government.”

Bisbee believes the people in Iraq are among the smartest and toughest in the Middle East, which he thinks gives the nation the best chance to develop a democracy.

“They recognize they have to get away from identity politics — religious or tribal — and instead focus on ideas and issues,” he said. “It’s not about sectarianism. It’s about upgrading economically.”

While he has seen progress in the 29 months he’s spent in Iraq since 2005, there are bumps in the road ahead, he said.

“The Sunni question will come back later this year,” he said. “When the money runs out, then what?”

He explained that massive amounts of money have been given to Sunni factions to encourage them to cooperate with the Shiite national government.

And with the U.S. presidential election coming up in November, there is strong pressure to bring American troops home.

“We’re missing the point if that’s what we focus on,” he said. “It’s much more complex than that. What do we want our policy to achieve?”

Committed to the future

But from his own perspective, from knowing Iraqis personally, he is optimistic.

A month before he left Baghdad, he said, he was invited by an Iraqi colleague for a drink after work.

“We went to a social club in downtown Baghdad. It looked like a bar here, with guys sitting around talking and smoking, with their beers and whiskeys,” he said. “They were all professionals, doctors, lawyers and so on. They’re all there because they are committed to the future of their country. These were guys who could have left, but they stayed on.”

A few days later, he attended the graduation of Baghdad University’s school of dentistry.

“These were young people, in the middle of a war, who still believe in the future.”

At the university’s school of fine arts graduation, Bisbee saw young painters and photographers and film makers.

“It looked like an art school graduation here in the U.S., with lots of interesting clothing and use of hair products,” he said. “They haven’t given up on their country. They see a future there.”