IEEE Volunteer Bob Krause Reports from Baghdad

by Barton Reppert

This story is based on an email interview conducted with U.S. IEEE member Bob Krause in mid-January 2004. Krause has been on a consulting assignment with BearingPoint, Inc., a McLean, Va.-based business consulting, systems integration and managed services firm. Krause is working on a BearingPoint contract with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Long-time IEEE member Bob Krause, who is currently on a consulting assignment in Baghdad, Iraq, has taken on a personal project on behalf of the global engineering profession. Krause is helping Iraqi electrical and electronics engineers — repressed for decades under Saddam Hussein’s regime — to join or rejoin IEEE and form their own national Section.

On assignment with BearingPoint Inc., Krause discovered that the engineers within the Ministry of Electricity in Iraq wanted to catch up to the technology and standards of the western world. They asked for access to current periodicals on engineering, standards and best industry practices." When he mentioned IEEE, "their eyes lit up. Many were members years ago.”

“Iraq is a well-educated country, and a high value is put on professionalism,” Krause observed. “An Iraqi engineering organization existed and there were no problems being a member. However, while contact with and membership in foreign organizations were not outright forbidden, they were extremely discouraged. And the secret police were everywhere; all activities of an outside nature were observed and recorded.”

At Krause’s initiative, a Ministry of Electricity executive sent a form to all Ministry engineers and to engineers at the university in Baghdad, and began collecting names and information about those interested in establishing an IEEE Section in Iraq.

“Having been very active in IEEE-USA before coming to Iraq, I had established many contacts. [When I got here] I got in touch with them to discuss ways I could help [the Iraqi engineers] get started,” Krause reported. As a result, “IEEE is already seeking out support from other Arab countries that have IEEE Sections and is investigating possible ways to support creation of an IEEE section in Iraq by offering initial member discounts and promotions." Krause has found a contact and prime mover in the effort locally and has volunteered to serve as a mentor to start the process.

Krause notes that in Iraq, there are 5,000 engineers within the Ministry of Electricity alone. If only five to 10 percent join the future IEEE Section, it would enjoy a membership of between 250 to 500 engineers — on par with almost half of the other active IEEE Sections around the globe. In 2003, 142 of 304 IEEE Sections had less than 500 members.

Engineering in Iraq Needs a Boost

Currently, Iraq's unemployment rate stands at 50 percent. Typically, engineers within the Ministry of Electricity earn between $200 and $500 a month. Hyperinflation has devastated the local currency and wages have remained low.

In addition, the plight of Iraqi engineering education is critical. “The country was once a strong center of learning and culture,” he said. “But under years of Saddam Hussein’s rule, university curriculums did not keep up, equipment was not maintained or updated, professors’ salaries remained very low, engineering ethics fell by the wayside, and a corrupt system of paying for grades and extra lessons became the norm.”

On Working in Iraq: Krause Recognizes the Danger

Krause said that “because travel is highly dangerous, I work at the Ministry’s headquarters in Baghdad, and needed data and personnel from outside of Baghdad are brought here. My work entails analyzing the ministry’s accounting, operating and financial records to determine the cost of service that is allowable to be passed on to consumers and to determine the proper rate tariffs by customer class that will fairly collect those costs.”

“I work in Saddam’s former Presidential Palace inside the ‘Green Zone,’ which is now the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) headquarters,” he said. “I travel under heavy guard each day to the Ministry of Electricity, which is temporarily housed in the Ministry of Oil building.”

“The work here is more dangerous than usual, but we take more precautions,” he added. To help deal with shootings, bombings and other security dangers in and around Baghdad, BearingPoint has hired a private security firm with armed guards and armored vehicles. In addition, personnel wear Kevlar vests and helmets when they travel.

“I recognize the risks, but I feel they are being managed. Personally, I feel that although it is inherently more dangerous here, I could just as easily step off a curb back home and be hit by a truck. When my number’s up, my number’s up.”

A Fort Worth, Tex. resident since 1979, Krause is married and has five children and six grandchildren. Asked what his family thinks about his assignment, he noted, “My wife has her own business — a successful travel agency — and we both understand each others’ dedication to our businesses and careers. She would rather I work elsewhere, but she is very supportive of my love of the work and my decision to take on this assignment in Iraq.”

Relating His Iraq Experience to His Career

Krause said his experience in Iraq is contributing to furthering his professional career in several ways. “International projects bring experts from around the world who come from different cultures. They get put together in a strange culture, fed strange food, and are expected to communicate in a foreign language — with the expectation of miraculous results. The really strange thing is that sometimes it works.”

“With all the problems [associated with working in Iraq], I think that developing a lot of patience and a sense of humor in working with both nationals and internationals has been a key element in furthering my career,” he continued. “Half of what I do is technical. That’s the easy part. The other half is political — managing the people and the situation under trying circumstances. Between the two, the second is more important and plays a greater role in achieving success.”

 

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Bob Krause worked for three utilities for almost 20 years and has been an independent consultant since 1981. He has been an intervenor in more than 65 rate cases and has testified as an expert witness in Texas, New Mexico and before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Internationally, he has had previous experience working on USAID and World Bank projects in Pakistan, Egypt and Kosovo. Krause served as an IEEE-USA vice president before his Kosovo assignment, and has chaired several IEEE-USA committees.

Barton Reppert is a freelance science and technology writer based in Gaithersburg, Md. Previously he worked for 18 years as a reporter and editor with The Associated Press in Washington, New York and Moscow. E-mail: barton.reppert@verizon.net.