AF facilitates media trip to Iraq

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Scott Sturkol
  • U.S Central Air Force-Forward Public Affairs
In an unprecedented move, the Air Force facilitated a trip into Iraq for Arab media representatives from Great Britain recently. Four Arab journalists were met in Kuwait by two Air Force public affairs escorts and flown by a C-130 Hercules to Basra and Baghdad, then back to Kuwait.

The journalists included Ja’afar al-Ahmer from the London-based Arabic newspaper, Al Hayat, and Yuri Hussein from the London bureau of the Egyptian newspaper, Al-Ahram. Also included were Essam Abdullah, political editor for al-Majallah Magazine and Khalid Kishtainy, an Iraqi author and columnist for the Arabic newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat.

Also on the trip were Ambassador Mark Hambley, director of the media outreach center for the U.S. Embassy in London; and William Morris, secretary general of The Next Century Foundation. The foundation is an organization established in Britain to promote peace and understanding between nations in the Middle East.

The trip was coordinated with the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad, the U.S. Air Force, British military forces and the U.S. Army. It offered an opportunity for the group to learn about progress in Iraq in both Basra and Baghdad, and allowed the reporters a chance to see firsthand the work being done by coalition forces in the country, officials said.

“We had a very good opportunity here to see the progress being made by the coalition forces in Iraq…over more than six months after the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime,” al-Ahmer said. “It is my belief after this trip that great assistance has been done in terms of services, security and restoring life to normality. I understand there is more work to be done; but the will is there, and I see it.”

Like the other publications represented, Hussein’s Egyptian newspaper reaches millions of Arab readers every day. He said the trip was particularly important to him because it gave him a firsthand view of what is happening in Iraq.

“It also gave me a chance to meet a lot of people from the (Al Mustansiriyah) university, the hospital, the Iraqi media and the Iraq political arena,” Hussein said. “I’m so happy to have been able to go to the people and see with my own eyes what Iraq was before, and what it is now. I saw the hope, and I know in the people’s eyes, they are looking for a different way of life, a free life (and) a democratic life.”

Abdullah said he learned a lot more than he expected on the trip. He said that on top of what he termed “plenty of good information and knowledge,” he also saw the intention of the coalition.

“The coalition has the intention to help the Iraqi people,” Abdullah said. “They prove it…by improving the electricity and the water, and by working with the Iraqi people. They don’t just go out and say they are going to help. They go out and do things right away.”

For Kishtainy, the only Iraqi on the trip, going back to Iraq was extra special. It gave the 74-year-old novelist and columnist a chance to return home.

“It encourages me a lot to see what is happening,” Kishtainy said. “My last time (in) my home country was 1989, and because of the regime that was in power, I never came back. Now I can see things are much better and will only get better.”

Morris had been to Iraq numerous times as part of the United Nations delegation to work on U.N. Resolution 1284 with the previous regime. He said he noticed a change right away when he first walked off the C-130.

“The whole mood of the place is different,” Morris said. “Before it was quite oppressive and dull and gray. As we got to the actual reality of this visit, the actual situation on the ground is phenomenal. People are really working with the British forces, the U.S. forces (and) all of the coalition forces building things up, and things are good.”

Hambley, who helped develop the trip, said initially they were planning a much larger group of media, but the size of this group fit the needs and intention of the trip perfectly. Also, considering this is the first kind of trip sponsored by the United States, he said it provided a basis for future trips.

“Although the British (military) have been bringing Arab journalists to the Basra region over the past several months, this was the first time the U.S. government agreed to sponsor a group,” the ambassador said. “As far as the Air Force participation in this trip, I must say I’ve always had a long and warm association with them since the (1991) Gulf War. I was very pleased to hear that the Air Force would be involved in our trip.”

Highlights of the trip included going on patrol with the British Army, meeting people in the CPA in Baghdad, visiting Baghdad University, the Health Ministry, a hospital and the Baghdad Central Detention Facility. At the end, one of the Air Force escorts said the goal of the trip was reached.

“We were hoping that by conducting this trip, we would be able to start turning the tide in the perception that everything is gloom and doom in Iraq," said Maj. David Honchul, deputy director of U.S. Central Air Forces-Forward Public Affairs. "As these journalists saw, that’s not the case. There is good news happening every day in Iraq, and I think this trip was very successful in showing that. From the comments I’ve received from our guests, the message came across loud and clear. We now have some prominent allies who can help us spread that good news to the Arab world.”

Abdullah, who flew on an Air Force plane for the first time during the trip, said he was very happy with everything.

“Flying with the Air Force was a great experience,” Abdullah said. “The Air Force, I think, runs things very smoothly and (the airmen) are friendly and well experienced.”