WP: Iraqi Young Leaders Exchange Program Encountering Issues

[sabra]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/17/AR2007051702055_2.html?hpid=artslot

Remember that $2.3 million Iraqi Young Leaders Exchange Program, launched by the State Department last year to foster goodwill and to teach Iraqi kids how to get along and be good citizens?

The idea was to bring about 100 Iraqi high school students over this summer to "learn about the United States, to develop their leadership skills, and to develop friendships," the program announcement said.

Three international student-exchange organizations divvied up the program grants and started working on recruitment. But it seems there's going to be a bit of a delay, most likely to next summer, because of apparently unforeseen security problems and especially because of passport problems.

...

Another problem is that all the kids would be required to go to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad -- not just once, but twice -- to get visas. The waits for visas also can be lengthy, and those trips could be quite dangerous if people who are not huge fans of the United States were to find out who was signing up.

...

As for safety concerns, the key, according to an e-mail circulating at one grantee, is to make sure everyone recruited is told right up front about the "the risk factors that we know about (including the fact that they may be photographed with President Bush and that their photos may be published.)."