The Foreign Service Journal, December 2004

F O C U S O N M E D I C A L D I P L O M A C Y 30 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 4 M EDICINE A S A C URRENCY OF P EACE IN I RAQ n late December 2003, Dr. Khodeir Abbas, the Iraqi minister of health, appeared on “The News Hour with Jim Lehrer.” Asked by Susan Dentzer what he intended to do in terms of reinvigorating the train- ing and education of Iraqi physicians, nurses and others going forward, Dr. Abbas responded: “We are going to hold the first international conference in Iraq in mid-February in order to tell the international community that we are back, and we are standing on our feet…” Indeed, optimism was high as more than 350 Iraqi medical specialists and 30 American and two British physicians I A MERICAN AND I RAQI PHYSICIANS HAVE OPENED A DIALOGUE TO HELP RETURN I RAQ TO THE MODERN MEDICAL AGE AND REBUILD THE NATION ’ S HEALTH CARE SYSTEM . B Y L OUSANNE L OFGREN Roy Scott