The Foreign Service Journal, December 2015

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2015 35 We had just hours to do everything: obtain personal data on a visitor (who technically hadn’t yet been approved by USIA headquarters), explain the program, verify credentials and get all of this into an immediate telegram to USIA. Once the cable was on its way, we prepared a comprehensive visa application package; escorted the candidate to the consular interview; purchased a round-trip air ticket; and issued travel funds. All of this was done by one junior USIA officer (me) and a very hard- working Iraqi staff assistant. A month or so later, when the visi- tor returned from the United States, we were allowed a single debrief to discuss what impact the program had made. Ongo- ing relationships between returning visitors and the embassy, an expected result of exchanges elsewhere, were discouraged by the Iraqi government. Was all this effort worth it? Absolutely! Did we hurt the pro- gram by bending the nomination rules? I don’t think so. Iraq sent us top-quality participants to whom we would otherwise have had no access at all. The IVLP consistently made positive impressions on a broad spectrum of that country’s profession- als following a long period (1968-1984) when there had been practically no U.S. presence in Iraq at all. Ours was a unique response to a unique challenge. n James Bullock is a retired Senior Foreign Service officer whose extensive diplomatic career included assignments in Europe and the Middle East. Identifying good exchange candidates remained our big problem. Most Iraqis were still loath to have any contact with us.