A number of Iraqi-American academics, meeting this month for a conference on how to rebuild Iraq's battered higher-education system, said the Iraqi government's plan to send thousands of students abroad annually would lead to a "brain drain" of a new generation of the nation's top talent. Prime Minister Nuri al-Malaki has proposed spending a portion of Iraq's oil wealth to send 10,000 students abroad to Britain, the United States, and elsewhere each year for the next five years to earn undergraduate and graduate degrees. This article reports on the goal of the Iraqi Academic Conference which was to draw together Iraqi and American academics to discuss ways to improve and support Iraqi higher education and to develop collaborations between universities and faculty members in the two countries. Depleted of resources and isolated during the years of Saddam Hussein's rule, Iraqi higher education came under further siege during 2006 and 2007, years of heavy sectarian violence that followed the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Hundreds of Iraqi professors were killed, and thousands more fled the country. Classes were rarely held. The security situation has since improved, but Iraq needs help to restore its once-flourishing higher-education system. Universities must cope with outmoded laboratories and libraries that are short of needed books and reference materials. Research has languished, and many academics who remained in the country are unfamiliar with the latest pedagogical and technological developments. American academics could form review teams to assess the current state of Iraqi medical schools or other colleges or programs in Iraqi universities. They could make recommendations, provide continuing advice, and even help set up laboratories. The focus could not be solely on building up the capacity of Iraqi faculty members and students. Iraq also needs help restoring its academic resources, like its libraries and museums.