You've probably heard this, but earlier this week many individuals (Shiites, Sunni Arabs, and Sunni Kurds) affiliated with Iraq's small academia were rounded up by gunmen. From the Boston Globe:
On Tuesday, gunmen dressed like Interior Ministry commandos abducted as many as 150 men from the central Baghdad office that handles academic grants and exchanges. The men were handcuffed and driven away in about 20 pickup trucks. About half were released in the next two days.
A Sunni who said he was among the hostages freed asserted the kidnappers broke his arm. He said he saw them kill at least three hostages after taking them to empty houses in the Sadr City Shi'ite slum.
Most professionals have left Iraq, but a couple refuse to abandon their home country. Listen to this interview from NPR's Here and Now, where we hear what Mosa Jad Aziz, the President of Baghdad University, has to say.
How will Iraq survive without a substantial professional class (academics, lawyers, doctors ...) when knowledge is the basis of a functional society.