DENIED

Iraqis Refused to Let U.S. Official Land

Visit delayed by mass confusion.

When the new U.S. chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff visited Iraq this month, his arrival was reportedly delayed because Iraqis refused to allow his plane to land at first. Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford’s C-17 initially flew to the Kurdish city of Irbil, but according to the Associated Press, it was “suddenly delayed” when his crew was told they could not land there. He was rerouted to Baghdad, reportedly “as military staff quickly yanked phones and cords out of containers to make urgent phone calls to officials on the ground, to fix the confusion.” Eventually the plane landed in Irbil. No reason has been given for the mix-up.