[CQ-Contest] Legal issues working Irag?

[Pete Smith]

At 04:32 PM 12/2/03 -0600, VE5ZX quoted an unofficial US MARS source:

>"Several American amateurs have been reported operating on the ham bands
>from Iraq , but this activity is problematic since all regular reciprocal
>licensing in Iraq expired with the removal of the Saddam Hussein
>government."


"Problematic" huh?  And someone thinks that the former Iraqi Government 
issued reciprocal licenses?

The ARRL issued a ruling some time ago that /YI operations were acceptable 
if the US military personnel in question had written authorization; it's 
hard for me to believe that the same judgment wouldn't apply to 
authorization by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA).  There are 
Americans in Iraq today whose jobs involve doing frequency management and 
licensing for the CPA, including amateur licensing.  Some time in the 
not-too-distant future, I imagine there will be a handoff of amateur 
licensing authority to the Iraqis again, but for the moment....


73, Pete N4ZR
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