Big, careful steps

This spring, just months after the Chinese National Petroleum Corp. began work on the Ahdab oil field in Iraq’s Wasit province, southeast of Baghdad, the project came under attack.

It wasn’t an act of terrorism or the roadside bomb of an insurgent. Iraqis in the poor, rural areas around the field said they reacted to promises of employment, basic services and local investment that were never kept.

“We want our right to access to employment opportunities,” said Umm Mohammed, 65, from A…