Bacher inshallah

After the various warm phrases of greeting and hospitiality, these two words (meaning "tomorrow, if God wills it") are the most common, and most frustrating, that you're likely to hear in Iraq. Today five meetings - with the Finance Minister, the KDP, the Turcoman Front, SCIRI and a senior shia cleric all fell through and, apart from the last one, were not rescheduled except for vague suggestions that I come back tomorrow and see if I'm luckier then.

Given that the working day is only a few hours in the morning (really just 8am-1pm), it seems to take 45mins to get anywhere in Baghdad's orderless traffic and find places (given that there's no A to Z streetmap and hardly anyone knows where organisations are located) and even null-meetings with secretaries of secretaries require sitting down and drinking tea for 20mins... it's easy to lose a day - like today - with a just a handful of non-events. Partly its a cultural thing, partly its a function of the chaos of Baghdad at the moment and the difficulties of communications, for the majority of us who don't have one of the 20'000 or so precious MCI mobiles, which requires physically going back to the same place day after day to try and fix an appointment.

Anyhow, apologies for my moaning, but this is a critical aspect of the situation in Baghdad and its worth understanding to appreciate how difficult and glacial any progress is here.