The war on Iraq has led thousands of Iraqi doctors, scientists and engineers to flee their homeland.

Iraq's brightest are scattered all over the Middle East, many living in wretched conditions.

The majority believe that they will never be able to return home and those who dream of reclaiming their old lives are afraid of assassination.

This brain drain is sapping Iraq's creative energy and is casting doubt on its recovery policies.

Several highly-publicised conferences were convened inside Iraq to convince exiled professionals to return. But the unremitting violence makes it unlikely that many will believe government assurances.

In this episode of Inside Iraq we ask: What will convince Iraqi professionals to return home and will reconstruction efforts succeed without Iraq's exiled talent?

Our guests on this show are Abid Dhiab Al-Ujayli, an Iraqi minister of higher education, Raed Jarrar, an Iraq consultant with the American Friends Service Committee, and Omar Al-Kubaisiand, a consultant cardiologist and former director-general of Ibn Al-Bitar Hospital in Baghdad.
 

This episode of Inside Iraq airs from Friday, June 5, 2009, at the following times GMT: Friday: 1730, 2230; Saturday: 0300, 0830; Sunday: 0600, 1230; Monday: 0130.