Eagle photo/Stuart Villanueva

Working to rebuild Iraq, a delegation of high-ranking officials from the war-torn country stopped Tuesday in College Station, where they pleaded for agricultural help from Texas A&M University administrators.

The governor of the Al Anbar province, which is home to Fallujah, sat with a group of fellow elected officials from his region as he recalled how American soldiers had stood alongside their Iraqi counterparts, fighting the war on terror.

Gov. Mamoon Rashid Al-Alwani said Tuesday that he hoped the United States -- a country that serves as a global source for freedom and science, he said -- would continue to stand with the Iraqis as reconstruction work begins.

"The blood of our sons has mixed with the blood of your soldiers while fighting terrorism," Al-Alwani said. "Just as you've fought with us and sacrificed, we hope you also help us in technology and science and the great advancements of your university."

The Al Anbar province is the largest in Iraq, but has one of the lowest population densities. It shares borders with Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Ramadi and Fallujah are the larger cities in the province and Fallujah was considered a stronghold of the resistance movement.

Delegates said they are visiting the United States to learn about politics, elections, finances and university management. Already, the panel has met with President George Bush and his father, U.S. secretaries of state and defense, representatives from the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University and various lawmakers and business owners, members said.

On Tuesday, the group spent the day in Aggieland, touring the Texas A&M campus, as well as its Cotton Improvement Lab and Beef and Sheep & Goat centers. They also spent time brainstorming with university and agricultural administrators.

"We didn't come here seeking equipment. These are things we can obtain," said Al-Alwani, who has survived 31 assassination attempts since assuming office in May 2005. "What we are looking for is scientific approaches in dealing with issues in agriculture."

The war has affected all aspects of life in Iraq -- particularly agriculture, the governor said. Because of the fighting, the farmers can't do their work, nor can they take their crops to market. But simple farming is happening, he said, noting that many in the region have a passion for agriculture.

The problem, he said, is that the minister of agriculture has no policy in place. That must change, he said, explaining that the government should focus on identifying issues, creating awareness and harnessing the scientific contributions in the field.

"Agriculture is the basis of life itself," Vice Chancellor and Dean of Agriculture and Life Sciences Elsa Murano said as she talked with the delegates. "One of the most important abilities a country can have is the ability to feed its own people."

If a country can feed its people and sell its goods, it can become economically self-sufficient, Murano said. That allows citizens to become educated, which prevents them from succumbing to tyrannical rule.

Iraq is going into the challenge with certain advantages, the panel said. A major river crosses the country, there is underground water suitable for irrigation and labor is ready and available. But the country lacks the scientific and technological experience to move forward, they said.

Both Al-Alwani and Al Anbar Provincial Council Member Ashour Hamid Al-Karboly stressed that the province and country have great potential, but it has been underutilized. Graduate and doctoral students at the University of Al Anbar and other colleges conduct research for their degrees, Al-Alwani said. But after it is conducted, it is shelved, he said.

That was a mandate by the former ruler, Al-Alwani explained. Researchers were often told to stop their studies, and the Internet -- a tool many people take for granted --was prohibited.

"Just imagine, this is the level of dark era we lived in during the previous regime," he said.

Al-Karboly also noted problems with chemical contamination, which began in 1991. The area was bombarded by chemical weapons during both the first and second Gulf wars, he said. And many chemicals were disposed of in the western part of the province -- or central Iraq -- during the more recent search for chemical and nuclear weapons. Such chemicals polluted the air, soil and water in the province, Al-Karboly said.

"This has obvious environmental consequences that may extend for years to come," he said, suggesting that the issue be considered a top priority in the partnership between Texas A&M and the University of Al Anbar. "This may very well lead to polluted water underground and very well reflect on agriculture as well."

The panel suggested a faculty exchange, as well as joint education and science workshops and research projects. Murano agreed that a faculty exchange would be important for both schools. It also would be key for A&M researchers to go to Iraq and launch projects that could demonstrate the techniques Iraqi professors would learn while at A&M, she said.

Provincial Reconstruction Team Leader James Soriano, who is with the State Department but lives in Ramadi, suggested the country was stable enough to begin to implement agricultural infrastructure. While the battle is not over, the country is headed in the right direction, he said.

"The Al Anbar province had a windfall of good news on the security front," he said. "Al-Qaida is on the defensive, the enemy has been pushed out of the cities and towns and public opinion has turned against them."

Interim A&M President Ed Davis acknowledged to the panel that the country had fallen behind in its ability to lead in science, education and research. He likened Iraq to the state of Texas roughly 100 years ago. America then was emerging from a civil war. The state was considered the frontier, he said, and people were just beginning to develop "this wild and crazy place we call Texas."

The state has made great strides in the last century, he said, and that is not a terribly long time span. Iraq can make the same strides, he said.

"Fundamentally, what we believe fuels progress is two things: freedom and education," Davis told the panel. "You have the first. We need to help you get to the second."

• Holly Huffman's e-mail address is holly.huffman@theeagle.com.

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