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Visa-free travel is supposed to woo expats and tourists

GETTING INTO Iraq has never been easy. Saddam Hussein was loth to grant visas to curious Westerners, lest they see evidence of his regimes brutality. After his overthrow in 2003, the borders opened up, but war kept civilians away. Then Iraqs new rulers lowered a paper portcullis, demanding fees and the completion of myriad forms. Local middlemen offered to helpfor a price, of course. Oil firms coughed up thousands of dollars to get their workers in.

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That is all changing. Last month Mustafa al-Kadhimi, the prime minister, scrapped visa requirements for visitors from 36 countries, including America, China and those in the EU. They will be granted a two-month entry permit on arrival. Officials say the move will cut red tape, encourage investment and kick-start reconstruction. Its the single most effective decision to open Iraq to the world, says a frequent German visitor.

The move is an effort to reposition Iraq as an area of co-operation, not confrontation, says one of Mr Kadhimis men. The prime minister hopes it will also let Iraq depend less on Iran. His advisers dream of attracting expats and even tourists. Iraq is certainly safer than it used to be. A visit by Pope Francis last month went off without a hitch.

Not everyone is happy, though. Some officials prefer Iranian to Western influence; others fear losing out on bribes. And xenophobia is still a problem. Clerics accuse the government of giving Westerners priority over pilgrims from Muslim countries that are not included in the plan. Its discrimination and wont bring back tourism, says a cleric in the holy city of Najaf.

The doors are not fully open yet. Iraqi consular staff say they have not been officially notified of the changes and that foreigners should still apply for visas. Mr Kadhimis underlings dont always enforce his decrees. Spring break in Baghdad may have to wait until next year.

This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline "The doors are opening"

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Getting into Iraq may soon be much easier - The Economist

RAF and other coalition planes last month engaged in the biggest air raids against Isis in two years, in a 10-day mission that attacked up to 100 cave hideouts in Iraq and is likely to have caused dozens of casualties.

The attacks concluded on 22 March, the Ministry of Defence said.

British and other nations forces are fighting an estimated 10,000 Isis guerrilla fighters operating in Syria and Iraq, nearly seven years after the war against the terror group began.

Air Commodore Simon Strasdin, who leads the UK air attacks, said he could not give an exact timeline for when the long-running war would end but insisted it would be winnable through the Iraqis being able to stabilise their country.

Iraq has been embroiled in conflict almost continually since the 2003 invasion by US, UK and other international forces, a situation that developed further with the emergence of Isis in the country and neighbouring Syria from around 2013.

The exact number of casualties in the latest operation is unknown; the cave complexes remain to be cleared out by Iraqi ground forces.

Strasdin said: We went after, as a coalition, a number of these targets every night for circa 10 days. It amounted to between 50 and 100 of the targets and complexes.

It is probable that dozens died. Strasdin predicted that the UK would be involved in operations during 2021 that would lead to more people killed than the 67 whom the UK said died fighting British forces during 2019 and 2020.

Isis fighters have been hiding out in the remote Makhmur mountains area which lies between the Iraq government zone of control in the south and the Kurdish-run north in a series of modified limestone caves that UK defence sources said were at least three miles from civilian sites.

The attacks on the cave complexes are understood to have taken months of planning as coalition forces sought to first find and then locate the hideouts. This was many, many months of building understanding and intelligence, Strasdin said.

Britain joined the US and dozens of other countries in attacking Isis from the air while relying on local ground forces. Early in 2019 the terror group lost the last of its territory, leading to speculation as to when the war would end.

At one point between late 2019 and early 2020 air raids and drones strikes by the RAF ground to a halt. But the latest raids show the conflict is far from over, even as those involved argue that the end of the war remains relatively close.

Chris Coles, from Drone Wars, which tracks air and drone strikes by British forces, said that the heavy bombardment in northern Iraq was perhaps the first indication of a constant campaigning strategy outlined by the UK government in last months integrated review of defence and foreign policy.

With few boots on the ground there is almost no pressure to bring military interventions to an end and so we are likely now to see British aircraft and drones engage endlessly in sporadic bouts of bombing with almost no visibility of the consequences for those on the ground, he added.

The RAF used Typhoon jets during the operation, targeting the caves with Paveway bombs, and used Storm Shadow cruise missiles for the first time in two years. Separately, on 4 April, an RAF Reaper drone struck in Syria for the first time in almost two years, aiming at a group of Isis members.

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RAF engaged in 10-day attack on Isis in Iraq this spring - The Guardian

BAGHDAD The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomed a 250,000 Euro contribution from France towards agricultural resilience-building activities in Basra governorate in the south of Iraq, that will support 7,500 people and their families.

This is the first time France supports WFPs work in southern Iraq, enhancing the long-term self-reliance of tens of thousands of people indirectly in food-insecure, vulnerable communities. Such initiatives are even more vital during the pandemic.

The project is also funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented in collaboration with the municipality in Basra, local communities and NGO partner Action Against Hunger.

Iraq is particularly affected by climate change through droughts and salinization of irrigation water, including the South of the country, said Bruno Aubert, French Ambassador to Iraq. There is an urgent need for action.Against this backdrop, France is deeply committed to support Iraqi agriculture through the World Food Programme. Planting date palm trees contributes to combatting desertification and supporting revenues of Iraqi farmers.

More than half of the participants are women, and the project is providing business grants to 50 women trainees, to support them in setting up small businesses. This includes advice on food production, marketing and selling to local markets, enhancing linkages and helping create sustainable incomes.

WFP welcomes this generous support from France, which will help create new job opportunities and mitigate the impact of climate change on natural resources, said WFP Representative in Iraq Abdirahman Meygag. "WFPs strong partnership with France on development assistance has a positive effect on local communities, improving agricultural productivity and peoples access to water. The participants are also able to build small businesses and value chains for the food they produce in the southern Iraq.

Solar water pumps for irrigation are another innovative solution introduced in the project, along with agroecology training to participants, covering practices with low environmental impact. In this way, the initiatives help improve livelihoods in an environmentally and economically sustainable manner.

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France supports WFP's agricultural resiliencebuilding projects in the South of Iraq [EN/AR/KU] - Iraq - ReliefWeb

Maj.-Gen. Peter Dawel speaks at a Canadian Special Operations Forces Command change of command ceremony in Ottawa on April 25, 2018.

PATRICK DOYLE/The Canadian Press

Some Canadian soldiers supported a major military offensive last month that U.S. and Iraqi officials say killed dozens of fighters loyal to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, according to the commander of Canadas military elite special forces.

In an exclusive interview with the Canadian Press, Major-General Peter Dawe said his troops helped plan the two-week operation codenamed Ready Lion, which involved using air strikes and Iraqi snipers to root Islamic State forces from mountain hideouts.

The Canadians also provided surveillance and assistance with resupplying local forces as the assault in the Makhmur Mountains was underway, Maj.-Gen. Dawe added, and were on standby with helicopters to provide medical evacuations.

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The revelations about Canadas involvement in Operation Ready Lion represent the first real update in more than a year about what the roughly 200 Canadian special forces soldiers currently in Iraq are doing as part of Canadas ongoing fight against the Islamic State.

They also coincided with the federal governments recent decision to extend the entire mission, which also involves hundreds of non-special forces troops scattered in Iraq and the surrounding region, until next March.

Canada has had special forces in Iraq since September, 2014, when the international community first scrambled to stop the Islamic State from taking over large swaths of Iraq and Syria. While Canadas anti-Islamic State mission has evolved several times, it has continued to include special forces.

Maj.-Gen. Dawe confirmed Canadas special forces are continuing to operate out of a military base near the city of Irbil, in Iraqs northern Kurdistan region. That base has come under attack from rockets several times over the past year, but the general said no Canadians have been hurt.

Operation Ready Lion was launched on March 9 and, over the course of the next two weeks, saw Iraqi and coalition aircraft pound a series of Islamic State tunnels and bunkers with 312 air strikes. Islamic State fighters who tried to flee were captured or killed by Iraqi snipers.

U.S. and Iraqi officials say 120 hideouts were destroyed and at least 27 Islamic State fighters killed, though its unknown how many may have been buried in the cave complex, which sits in an area of the country that is difficult to police.

While the operation has been hailed as a success, Maj.-Gen. Dawe said Canadas support is the exception to the trend when it comes to what his troops have been doing in Iraq.

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Maj.-Gen. Dawe would not get into specifics, but suggested the training and assistance that Canadian troops have been providing to their Iraqi counterparts has shifted from working alongside them on the battlefield to more behind-the-scenes planning.

That reflects the Iraqis having started to develop their own skills and experience as they hunt down Islamic State cells and sympathizers, Maj.-Gen. Dawe said, though he confirmed Canadian troops do sometimes accompany their charges into the field.

Its a progression, he said. Were still on occasion tactically advising and assisting. And historically, on occasion, weve found ourselves proximate to hostile actors. And on occasion, weve had to defend ourselves and our partners.

Maj.-Gen. Dawe again wouldnt provide details, but said Canadian troops have fired in self-defence on at least one occasion in the last couple years.

The military and federal government faced questions earlier in the mission about whether Canadian special forces were in combat, even though officials insisted they only fired in self-defence and were not engaged in offensive combat operations.

Sergeant Andrew Doiron is the only Canadian to have been killed during the Islamic State mission, but died from so-called friendly fire in March, 2015. The governments decision to extend the anti-Islamic State mission comes amid uncertainty about exactly what form Canadas presence in Iraq and the surrounding region will take in the coming months.

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That includes a NATO training mission that previously involved 250 Canadian troops and was led by a Canadian, Major-General Jennie Carignan, until command was transferred to Denmark in November. Canada now has only 17 trainers involved in the mission.

Brigadier-General Mike Wright, who as commander of Joint Task Force Impact oversees those parts of Canadas anti-Islamic State mission that dont involve the special forces, says NATO is now working with Iraq to determine the best approach to the training effort.

We remain plugged in, we being the Canadian Armed Forces at NATO, because those discussions about the future of the [Iraq training] mission happen in Brussels, he said, suggesting the results of those discussions will determine Canadas future contribution to the effort.

Canada also has a headquarters unit, two CC-130 Hercules transport planes and support staff in Kuwait involved in the anti-Islamic State mission, along with teams of military trainers in nearby Jordan and Lebanon.

All told, there are about 500 Canadian troops in the region, though the federal government has authorized up to 850.

There has been growing concern about the threat posed by Iran and Iranian-backed militia groups in Iraq, even as the number of Islamic State fighters believed to be in Iraq and Syria has shrunk from between 14,000 and 18,000 to between 8,000 and 16,000.

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While that has led to analysts arguing the purpose of the mission has shifted from dealing with the Islamic State to checking Iran, Maj.-Gen. Dawe and Brig.-Gen. Wright were both adamant that their focus remains on the Islamic State, which is also known as Daesh.

Our mandate is the defeat of Daesh, Brig.-Gen. Wright said. So thats what we remain focused on. ... Obviously, we pay attention to other threats within the region for situational awareness and force protection.

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Canada's special forces involved in major assault on Islamic State in Iraq last month - The Globe and Mail

Nancy Gilson| Special to The Columbus Dispatch

Several years ago, New York City artist Susan J. Barron happened to be talking with two widows of veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

When both of the womens husbands returned home from multiple deployments, they seemed fine. Then both took their own lives on the streets of their hometowns.

I was struck by how appalling and wrong that was, Barron said in a telephone interview from New York.

And then the women told me that 22 American veterans commit suicide every day in the United States. And that number is probably even higher because its not fully reported.

Her shock and distress at the stories and statistics prompted Barron to begin Depicting the Invisible, a series of portraits of American military veterans suffering Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. She has created 24 portraits and has shown them in a variety of cities throughout the United States.

Fourteen of these large, six-by-six-foot portraits are on view through Jan. 2 Downtown at the National Veterans Memorial and Museum. In addition, Barrons award-winning documentary about the portraits can be seen on her website, susanjbarron.com.

The portraits combine photography, painting, collage and text to present individual studies of the veterans surrounded by their own words, describing what they saw and experienced in combat and what they feel as victims of PTSD.

The portrait, titled Josh and Emma, shows a bearded, tattooed man cradling a baby and surrounded by fragments of text: Our mission was to flush out Al Qaeda. Returning from patrol we hit a pothole. The pothole detonated … I came home in a rough place. With PTSD I go into pure panic mode. I look like a monster reacting to a butterfly … We had Emma ten days ago … Im not sure I believe in God but I do believe in new beginnings.

Although the portraits appear to be black and white, Barron prints the photographs of her subjects in four colors, giving the works greater depth. Backgrounds are painted and some have drips of black dots that refer to the black dots of brain scans of PTSD victims. From hours and hours of conversations with her subjects, Barron distilled their experiences to 140 words poetic text that surrounds the veterans.

She discovered her subjects through word of mouth and with help from Freedom Fighter Outdoors, an organization supplying support and activities for injured veterans.

I mostly spoke to (the veterans) by phone, Barron, 62, said. They would say, Ill give you 15 minutes, and then five hours later, I had to go pick up my kids at school and Id say, lets continue this tomorrow … I think many of them didnt have an opportunity to talk much about what happened to them. And in general, I think many veterans feel invisible and forgotten.

Barrons subjects had all served in either Iraq or Afghanistan. According to a National Health Study for a New Generation of United States Veterans, of 60,000 veterans from those two wars, more than 13 percent of them screened positive for PTSD; other studies put the figure higher, at between 20 and 30 percent. In the past 13 years, about 500,000 U.S. troops who served in these wars have been diagnosed with PTSD.

Veterans told me that they have these images of war that they cant get out of their minds, Barron said. They haunt their dreams; the images are ever-present.

While most of her subjects are men who, she said, suffer PTSD from experiences in combat, her portraits of women tell a different story.

Their PTSD is from military sexual assault, Barron said. This is the intersection of military service and the #MeToo movement. Almost all of the women that I talked to said they werent believed. … We need to believe them.

Male or female, Barrons subjects face those looking at their portraits.

They make direct eye contact with the viewer, which is really important, Barron said. I want viewers to bear witness. These veterans are owning their stories. They are real people who have put their lives on the line for you.

Lt. Gen.Michael Ferriter, U.S. Army (retired) and president and CEO of the National Veterans Memorial and Museum, calls the portraits captivating.

Barron challenges us to confront the invisible realities of individuals with PTSD, he said.

Veterans in these portraits are continuing service, serving their communities by sharing their stories to help others.

The museum has scheduled interactive events to connect with regional veterans and to encourage public dialogue about PTSD, something the artist applauds.

Barron who studied at Boston University, the Art Institute of San Francisco and Yale University said she strives to make a difference with her art.

I had a professor who said you have a limited amount of work capacity in your life, so make every painting count, she said. If I can use my skill set to bring awareness and make the world a better place, thats what I want to do.

But creating the works in Depicting the Invisible included moments of sorrow.

Her portrait Damon shows a confident-looking African American man who upon returning from combat practiced Buddhism and yoga and worked in a number of community projects.

We were about to open the exhibit in Manhattan and I got a call from his mother that he had passed on suicide … I was blindsided. I knew him so well and we had talked about everything and I felt that I should have known. I was feeling very dark and was considering stepping away from the project. Then the veterans reached out to me and said, 'This is why youre doing this project and why we gave you our stories. You cant walk away.

So I continued and there have been many moments of joy. These are amazing, heroic people. Considering what theyve been through and what theyve seen, its remarkable that they still have so much grace and walk with such dignity and compassion.

negilson@gmail.com

Depicting the Invisible: A Portrait Series of Veterans Suffering From PTSD continues through Jan. 2 at the National Veterans Memorial and Museum, 300 W. Broad St. Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. Admission ranges from $10 to $17, with U.S. veterans and active duty military, Gold Star families and ages younger 5 admitted free. The exhibit also is available online. Tickets for the virtual exhibit cost $7 and can be reserved at http://www.nationalvmm.org. For more information, visit the website or call 614-362-2800.

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Visual arts | 'Depicting the Invisible': Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan wars the focus of exhibit - The Columbus Dispatch