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The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has commissioned its first major study of whether men and women who served in America's most recent wars passed on any health problems to their children or grandchildren.

Researchers with the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine will hunt for any research that suggests soldiers who fought in the first Gulf War, the post-9/11 Iraq war and Afghanistan might have passed on any medical conditions to their descendants.

"We are evaluating whether there is any evidence out there. And if there isnt, then lets design recommendations that can help acquire that kind of data in the most effective and meaningful way," says Dr. Kenneth Ramos, chair of the committee overseeing the study.

The VA is required by law to explore potential connections between military service and negative health outcomes. Previous government studies have looked into whether veterans of the Gulf War and those on active duty since 9/11 suffered health problems after their service; the new study will be the first step in an effort to evaluate their children and grandchildren.

"The government takes these reports to heart and utilizes them to guide and inform decisions," Ramos says. "It influences their ability to make decisions regarding a path forward."

With veterans of the Gulf War, Iraq and Afghanistan concluding their service so recently, many havent had time to have grandchildren. Thats partly why the committee is launching the study now, he says.

"Because not enough data is available, how do we ensure that we can position ourselves to be acquiring the kind of findings and data that we need to be able to generate the information thats required?" says Ramos.

The committee wont limit itself to examining any particular health outcomes, says Ramos. But it will pay special attention to conditions linked with exposure to solvents, pesticides and certain metals.

"The reality is that these are things that to a lesser or greater degree everyone is exposed to," he says. "But because of the nature of the conflict itself and the activities of military personnel, then they become agents of interest. Disposal of residues, burning of trashthose are things that might actually influence extensive exposure."

The results of the two-year study are expected in 2019.

During the 1990-91 Gulf War, U.S. troops were exposed to chemical and biological weapons and particulates from burning oil wells. Veterans have continued to complain of health problems more than 25 years later. Commonly-reported symptoms include chronic fatigue, headaches, joint pain and memory problems.

Some Gulf War soldiers also used tank armor and some bullets containing depleted uranium. According to the VA, if a a large amount of depleted uranium enters a person's body through ingestion or a wound, it may affect the kidneys.

In a 2016 study, the National Academies found evidence of a causal relationship and/or association between Gulf War service and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Gulf War illness (generalized anxiety, depression, fatigue, gastrointestinal issues). They foundlimited/suggestive evidence of an association for Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS) and fibromyalgia.

Ramos chaired the 2014 biannual committee on Agent Orange exposure during the Vietnam War. In that study, researchers found no evidence of medical disorders in exposed veterans children.

As part of the new study, researchers will collect veterans feedback at a public meeting in September.

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VA to study health effects of Gulf War, Iraq and Afghanistan on vets' families - 89.3 KPCC

As the battle of Mosul reaches its end, President Trump must decide how to proceed in Iraq. Both the U.S. and Iraqi governments rhetoric indicate American troops will withdraw after Mosul has been recaptured. However, that would leave the country vulnerable to Iranian influence. U.S troops should remain in Iraq to secure its territory and government from external threats.

Iran has tried to increase its influence in Iraq since the withdrawal of U.S. troops in 2011. Tehran has extended its reach through Shia militias loyal to the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei. These militias have fought alongside Iraqi security forces and Kurdish troops against ISIS to claim territory, not help civilians, and many of them have political wings that seek to align Iraqs government with Irans political and religious structure.

Since 2016, the U.S. has invested over $10 billion and an additional $4.83 billion in the fiscal year 2017 budget to combat ISIS. Currently, there are more than 5,000 U.S. troops and 3,500 coalition advisers to train 65,000 Iraqi soldiers, police, Kurdish troops, and Sunni tribal fighters. The U.S. should continue to support the Iraqi government as it rebuilds. This will help regional partners and the U.S. protect their interests. If the U.S. withdraws, Baghdad may become a puppet of Tehran, making the rest of the region susceptible to Iranian control.

Irans funding and logistical support of Iraqi Shia militias commonly referred to as the Popular Mobilization has aided in the effort to defeat ISIS. However, the Popular Mobilizations involvement has also led to increased sectarian violence in recaptured areas. In addition, it has delegitimized Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadis sovereignty over the security forces. These militants refuse to take orders from the Iraqi government, and only respond to directions given by Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The U.S. withdrawal of troops from Iraq would be an invitation for Iran to create a base of control to threaten U.S. partners in the region. Currently, Iraqi security forces lack the manpower and resources to secure recaptured territory. Troops are centered in Mosul, leaving the rest of the country vulnerable and unprotected. This not only makes Iraq vulnerable to an ISIS resurgence, but also allows the Shia militants free reign over unfortified areas. Iran could take control of recaptured areas through its militias and implement its own rule of law on the inhabitants. Fighting between the Iraqi security forces and the militants would likely cause a drastic surge in sectarian violence, risking civilian lives and worsening the refugee crisis.

A number of groups in Iraq, including from the prime ministers party, support a closer relationship with Tehran. Some powerful Shia political parties receive funding and support from Iran and aim to bring the two countries closer together. They are seeking a leader who will distance the country from U.S. influence. One such individual is Nouri al-Maliki, Iraqs former prime minister. Maliki insisted on the withdrawal of U.S. troops in the late 2000s and gave top government and military positions to favored Shiites, denying rights and representation to other communities in Iraq.

Without U.S. support, the Iraqi government will lose the limited control and legitimacy it has, placing U.S. security and economic interests in jeopardy. A pro-Iran leader in Iraq would hurt U.S. efforts to combat terrorism in the region and strain its economic relationship with Iraq. Much like Iran is able to threaten Israel via its proxy, Hezbollah, in Lebanon, establishing a hold over Iraq would aid its wars in Yemen and Syria against U.S. partners like Saudi Arabia, and further destabilize the region.

During the presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly stated his commitment to combatting Irans influence in the Middle East. In an interview with the Washington Post, then-candidate Trump remarked, Iran is taking over Iraq as sure as youre sitting there. In a campaign speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee last March, Trump stated Iran is a problem in Iraq, a problem in Syria, a problem in Lebanon, a problem in Yemen and will be a very, very major problem for Saudi Arabia. U.S. policy needs to reflect the accuracy of Trumps assessment.

The Trump Administration must renew its presence in Iraq to prevent a resurgence of conflict and protect the country from Iranian influence. Two programs provide funding for the U.S. to advise and assist in Iraq and Syria: the Iraq Train and Equip program and the Counter ISIL fund. Congress needs to renew these programs in 2018 to fund the security forces. President Trump should also encourage other members of the Counter-ISIS coalition to commit more funding and logistical support for security forces.

The administration should also increase funding for the Air Forces F-15 and F-16 fighter jet programs, which have been highly effective in targeting ISIS. If President Trump is to follow through in his pledge to stand up to Iran's aggressive push to destabilize and dominate the region, he must commit to securing territories and the U.S. relationship with Iraq.

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The Battle For Iraq Doesn't End With MosulOr ISIS - The National Interest Online (blog)

He continued: We are not the reason Iraq is falling apart. I think Iraq is a fabricated state. It was built on the wrong foundations.

And then there is Syria. The civil war across the border, as much as the sectarian policies of the former prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, helped the Islamic State regenerate in Iraq after its predecessor, Al Qaeda in Iraq, was largely eradicated. The group was able to expand into Syria before sweeping across the border in 2014 and taking Mosul.

Without peace in Syria, officials say, there is little chance for peace and stability in Iraq.

Syria and Iraq are closely connected, Mr. Maliki said in an interview this year. If the situation in Syria is unstable, Iraq will be unstable.

When asked about the future of Iraq after the Islamic State, Mr. Maliki said: The state cannot control the situation. The coming phase will be bad.

With the larger questions hanging over the country, the immediate challenge of stabilizing Mosul is monumental, especially in the citys west side. The fight has essentially turned the city into two, divided by the Tigris River. The west is a gray, dusty wasteland of flattened buildings and upturned, charred trucks; even the windows of the cars civilians are driving have been blown out. Cross the bridge, though, and suddenly the world emerges in light and color, with shops and restaurants open, and loud traffic jams.

Fighting continued on Monday in a small patch of the old city, and security forces there rescued two more girls from Iraqs Yazidi religious minority who had been held as sex slaves. The United Nations, meanwhile, put out an urgent call for funding from other nations to help the nearly 700,000 civilians still displaced from the fighting.

All day long on Monday, Iraqi state television played patriotic songs in honor of the security forces, and later in the evening, a news flash alerted that Mr. Abadi would make a historic speech, surrounded by soldiers. The prime minister, once again, declared victory in Mosul, saying, Iraq is now more united than ever, and he declared Tuesday a national holiday of celebration.

In the skies over Mosul, Iraqi airplanes dropped three million leaflets on a city where many of the residents are no longer there.

Each leaflet showed a map of Mosul in the colors of the Iraqi flag red, white and black with the message: Mosul has been returned to the bosom of Iraq.

Falih Hassan contributed reporting.

A version of this article appears in print on July 11, 2017, on Page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: Iraq Celebrates A Win in Mosul As Rifts Widen.

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Iraq Celebrates Victory Over ISIS in Mosul, but Risks Remain - New York Times

Only a few days ago, Malala Yousafzai was finishing her final high school exams. On Tuesday, she landed in Iraq to meet with displaced girls here who have spent years out of school. This is not how most young people spend the summer before college, but Yousafzai has become a champion of education rights for girls since the Taliban tried to kill her in 2012 in Pakistan.

I want to ensure that there are more girls that can speak up and stand with me, because there's nothing special in me[I dont] have some kind of special ability or talent, Yousafzai said in an interview with TIME in the Hassan Shami camp for internally displaced people, just outside the newly liberated city of Mosul . We need to encourage girls that their voice matters. I think there are hundreds and thousands of Malalas out there.

Yousafzai is visiting Iraq as part of her Girl Power Trip , aiming to raise awareness about the importance of girls education, in particular visiting areas affected by poverty and conflict. We were living in the same situation, Yousafzai tells a dozen Iraqi schoolgirls seated at metal desks. We were displaced in the Swat Valley [in Pakistan] for three months because of terrorism and extremism.

Most of these girls lived under ISIS for almost three years and only escaped Mosul as Iraqi forces took their neighborhoods in the spring. Many like, Nayir, the 13-year-old from western Mosul accompanying Yousafzai on her visit, stopped attending school in 2015. The first year ISIS was there I stayed in school, says Nayir, whose name has been changed to protect her identity. But then, the second year, ISIS changed the curriculum.

Teachers in Mosul describe how the militants showed up at schools with new books. The math lessons used bullets instead of apples and Arabic lessons told inspirational stories of young suicide bombers. Parents were in a tough positioneither send their children to school and risk having them indoctrinated by ISIS, or keep the home with no education at all. Like many parents, Nayir choose the later. For almost two years, she sat in the house.

Before ISIS, I lead a normal life. I went to school. I went out with my sister and my friends, says Niyir. We couldnt do anything under ISIS.

Nayirs family fled Mosul in April, after ISIS killed her father and blew up their home. Now they live in the Hassan Shami camp and Nayir attends class with other Iraqi girls. In some way, the girls attending class in this tent, in the 40-degree heat, are the lucky ones. The United Nations childrens organization, UNICEF, says 3.5 million children are missing out on education in Iraq, putting them at increased risk of child labor, recruitment into armed groups and early marriage, particularly for girls.

Some families prefer their daughters to get married earlier, because there's burden on the family, said Yousafzai. Some displaced families, across the region, marry-off their daughters, simply because they are unable to feed and support them. [We need to] ensure that this message is sent to refugee families [..] that education is important for their daughters.

Yousafzai also says the international community needs to increase financial support for education for displaced children. They would say that these families are going to return [home] anyway, so let's not invest in infrastructure. There are no schools, Yousafzai said, giving the example of Syrian refugee children, many of whom have not been to school since they fled the country more than five years ago. People often forget that this is the way that the refugee children can have a future, that you educate them, otherwise it is a generation lost. If you don't educate these children, then it is very challenging for the country to rebuild.

Countries also need to step up to help those who flee war-torn countries out of fear or desperation, she adds. "If you look at how many people are suffering because of wars and conflicts, we have to open our hearts, we have to open our homes, we have to support these people."

Yousafzai, hasnt been able to return to her country, Pakistan, since she was flown to the U.K. for emergency medical treatment after the 2012 attack. Instead shes been finishing high school in the British city of Birmingham. While she tours Iraq, shes waiting for the results of the her A-Level exams the equivalent of the U.S. SATs and to find out if shell get into Oxford University. Its been tough for the youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate to balance her advocacy work with the normal concerns for a new high school graduate .

It has been challenging, because I was getting my own education. I had to go to school. I had to do my homework. I had exams. I had teachers, she told TIME. And then, I come out of school and then there's another life, where you have lots of things to do.

Yousafzai turned 20 years old on Tuesday. In the almost five years since the attack she has gone from a child victim of the extremism, to one of the worlds best known activists. I wanted to change the world when I was 11. I wanted to be the prime minister of Pakistan and fix everything, she said. And I still believe in change. I still believe that through your contributions, raising your voice, you can bring change in your community.

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'We Have to Support These People.' Malala Yousafzai Visits Iraq to Meet Girls Who Lived Under ISIS - TIME

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

Iraqi security forces with the support of coalition forces are finally getting close to defeating ISIS in Iraq, which begs an important question: What comes next? More to the point, what governmental structure would best protect the many ethnic groups that live there?

Part of the answer will be provided this year by a referendum scheduled for Sept. 25. The Kurdistan Region will ask its people if they support Kurdistans independence. We expect that the answer will be overwhelmingly yes. President Masoud Barzani has also made it clear that the referendum will include areas that have long been disputed between Baghdad and Irbil, giving people in those territories an opportunity to decide their own future as well.

Iraqis, like the Kurds who have suffered under regimes that failed to protect its citizens from persecution and, in some cases, violence, should be given their say about what form of government provides them the best security. Self-governance is clearly the right answer.

To be sure, the referendum wont be the end of the story. Other actions would need to be taken before Iraqi Kurdistan can declare sovereignty. Negotiations are required between Baghdad and the Kurdistan. In those talks, the United States will play the critical role of an honest broker. America can ensure that the negotiations are fair, productive and deliver the best possible outcome for both sides.

A stable Iraq is in everyones best interest. An independent Kurdistan would share hundreds of miles of border with Iraq, and our economic ties are deep. Iraq would be one of Kurdistans most important trading partners, and no one outside of Iraq would have a greater incentive for peace and stability in the country.

The challenges of achieving independence for any country are great but not insurmountable. Negotiating an amicable divorce with Baghdad will be difficult, but there are no cardinal rules against it and many successful examples of peaceful secessions.

For decades, Iraqis have seen cycles of genocide. Under Saddam Husseins fascist state, Kurds, Shia and others suffered decades of terror, oppression and numerous attacks on civilians with the most deadly chemical weapons.

In Kurdistan in the 1980s, the state conducted a dedicated, sustained campaign to break the back of our economy, destroy our way of life and, ultimately, exterminate our people. The Baathists called the campaign Anfal, a Koranic term for the spoils of war.

The departure of Saddam did not end of the suffering. Militias and criminal gangs kidnapped wealthy elites, assassinated academics, and ethnically cleansed areas with impunity. In 2014 the Yazidis, Christians and others again suffered genocide, this time at the hands of ISIS. Our economy has suffered both from the war against ISIS and the humanitarian crisis, but also from Baghdad cutting off our share of the federal budget.

When Iraqs constitution was drafted in 2005, we in Kurdistan envisioned a federal system that could have led Iraq to realize its potential for prosperity for all Iraqis. Kurdistanis voted overwhelmingly in favor of the Iraqi constitution on that basis. But over the past 12 years, leaders in Baghdad have centralized power. Our initiatives to develop our region, particularly in growing an oil and gas industry from scratch, were treated as liabilities rather than assets. Despite our worries about the direction of the country, our friends in America and the West encouraged us to remain part of the country and participate in government, which we did.

But now it is time for the people of Kurdistan to determine their future, knowing all that has happened in the past century since Iraq was created and all that has passed since 2005.

Like the United States, we have invested blood, time, energy and treasure to make Iraq work. Now its time for Iraq and Kurdistan to be good neighbors with good fences rather than be under one roof and a thorn in each others side. The United States can play a pivotal role in that effort.

Falah Mustafa Bakir is the head of the Department of Foreign Relations of the Kurdistan Regional Government.

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Negotiating an amicable split - Washington Times