Provincial Reconstruction Team - Iraq PRTs

Iraq PRTs

The PRT concept was imported from Afghanistan into Iraq in 2005. That year, 10 PRTs were established in Ninewa, at-Ta'Mim, Salah ad-Din, Diyala, Basra (UK), Dhi Qar (Italy), Erbil (South Korea), Baghdad, Anbar, and Babil. As part of the Iraq War troop surge of 2007, the number of PRTs was expanded to cover every province in the country. Additionally, ePRTs were rolled out to work with the sub-provincial levels of government. By 2008, there were 31 PRTs, including 13 ePRTs, located throughout Iraq. Beginning in 2008, a PRT including USDA agricultural advisers worked with Iraqi farmers and created the Green Mada’in Association for Agricultural Development, an agricultural cooperative of 800 farmers in Mada’in Qada. A new book, We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for Iraqi Hearts and Minds, by former PRT Team Leader Peter Van Buren, covers the Green Mada'in and other reconstruction projects in Iraq.