Iraq resurrects Saddam policy to stem brain drain

The new Iraqi government has taken another step backwards, reinstating a Hussein era policy of withholding diplomas and transcripts from newly graduated doctors in an effort to stem their flight from the country. Fully one third of the medical professionals have already left in the wake of continued violence and the ever present threat of kidnapping and assassination.

A leader of the Iraqi Medical Association expressed horror and disbelief when told of the new policy but a Ministry of Health spokesman was nonchalant.

"We welcome the decision, even though we know this is against the basic rights of individuals," Yahya said. "But it is in the interest of the Iraqi people."

Words befitting any dictator to be certain but the Ministry would do better by taking stronger steps to improve their facilities instead of forcing doctors to stay against their will. The medical training system is already operating in a manner that fails the best interests of the people.

Only about 25 percent of students are able to attend classes daily, Araji said. The rest, kept away by explosions and gunfire and roadblocks, use lecture notes to study at home and show up only for exams.

Further, there is a dearth of instructors in the schools. Classes in specialized techniques are being taught by practitioners outside of the area of practice and the hospitals themselves suffer from outdated and broken equipment and a lack of even the most basic supplies. One has to wonder how well the students are being trained in the first place under these conditions.

And the doctors are a small drop in the sea of refugees that have already fled. The UN estimates two million Iraqis have left under threats of violence. Some do well but most are forced to scrape by and struggle to survive. A large number of those are of Iraq's professional class. Outside of the doctors, these are the engineers, academics, and other white collar professionals on which a civil society depends. Holding the newly trained doctors hostage won't solve that.

This authoritarian edict is rather like slapping a bandaid on a severed jugular vein and expecting the bleeding to stop. It's a symbolic measure that will still kill the patient, or in this case the patience of the remaining Iraqis with their government.