She is the modern-day Gertrude Bell - a strong-minded woman having a unique impact on Iraq and influencing decisions taken by the United States since the invasion. Emma Sky, who lives in Battersea, South London, when she is not roaming around a war zone in her role as political adviser, has the ear of General Ray Odierno, commander of US forces in Iraq, making her potentially the most influential Briton in the country.

Her efforts, from the early days of the conflict until now, earned the Oxford graduate, who speaks Arabic and Hebrew, an OBE last year.

“It is a fascinating society,” she said of Iraq. “They have got things here that we have totally lost in the West: the appreciation of each other, whether it is the family, the clan or the tribe; values that aren't capitalist.”

Ms Sky, 41, was working for the British Council in Manchester when the US and Britain entered Iraq in March 2003 - a war she strongly opposed. Eager to let Iraqis know that many in Europe were against the invasion, she volunteered for a team being sent by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to help to administer Iraq after the downfall of Saddam Hussein.

Armed with her pacifist ideals, she flew to Basra in June 2003, expecting to work for three months before the US-led coalition handed control of the country to a new Iraqi administration - a concept that seems laughable now. Within weeks she was made the senior civilian representative for the coalition in Kirkuk, an ethnically divided city close to Iraq's northern border with Iraqi Kurdistan. Days into the job, her house came under rocket attack while she was in bed. She relocated to a US base.

During this period, Ms Sky came into contact with General Odierno, who led the US division that controlled the region. The relationship blossomed, thanks to Ms Sky's nononsense approach to speaking her mind and her knowledge of the Middle East. “I am not afraid to tell the general things that other people won't tell him, and I'm not afraid to look at things, frame things, in a completely different way,” she said.

She returned to England in June 2004, but was unable to let Iraq go. After stints in Jerusalem and Kabul, she received an e-mail from General Odierno - promoted to Deputy Commander of US forces in Iraq in 2006 - asking if she would return to Baghdad as his political adviser.

A petite “nearly” 5ft 4in (1.5m), the brown-haired Ms Sky is as different from the 6ft 5in balding general as could be imagined. He earned his reputation as a fearsome war fighter. She used to take part in anti-war demonstrations and spent much of her life working for peace in Gaza. Yet the relationship works and has proved pivotal in helping to mould US military decisions.

“We have regular banter of insults and jabs, but we will disagree on things,” she said. “At the end of the day he will take a decision, and once he has taken a decision I respect that decision.” Asked why she thought the general valued her input, Ms Sky, an expert on development and reconciliation, said: “Some people say it is about saying the truth to power.”

The year 2007 was a turning point in a war that had become increasingly brutal. A surge of 30,000 extra US troops, coupled with a decision by Sunni tribal leaders to turn against al-Qaeda under the payroll of the US military, finally started to reduce violence. At every step Ms Sky was at General Odierno's side, often working with him from 7am until 11pm, helping to look behind the faces of the “enemy”. “Who are these people? What do they want? What is their reason for using violence? It is not like they are just having a bad hair day or are completely deranged,” she said.

By slipping out on her own to meet different elements of Iraqi society, she provided an invaluable viewpoint for the US military, which had realised that it could not win the peace in Iraq through force alone. She ruffled feathers at times with her opinions, but was nonetheless listened to. “I have a seat at the table...so I have always been given that opportunity to be heard, to have that access to influence.”

Spending so much time with General Odierno has also had an impact on Ms Sky, who uses “we” to describe the US military. But she does not believe she has betrayed her values: “I know that I have prevented loss of life on numerous occasions, and I try very carefully not to do anything that leads to anybody being targeted.”

Ms Sky's passion for Iraq and position of influence have drawn comparisons with another British official who dedicated much of her life to Iraq: Gertrude Bell was one of the people who helped to draw up the map of the country, initially known as Mesopotamia, almost a century earlier.

Ms Sky first heard her name linked to Ms Bell's by Iraqis while she was in Kirkuk. They told her: “You are our Miss Bell.” Asked about the comparison, she said that they came from different generations. “But I understand her love of the place. When anyone makes this comparison, I always think she ends up a spinster in Baghdad committing suicide.”

Back in Iraq for another tour, she agreed to work for General Odierno when he took on the top military command last September, but is keen for a break from conflict. After a year or so away from the front line, Ms Sky will consider her next move. “I would love to go and work for the President in the White House,” she said, admitting that her favourite TV series was The West Wing.

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