The U.S. Department of State and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts invite the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra to perform in Washington, alongside Leonard Slatkin‘s National Symphony Orchestra. With six weeks’ notice, and anti-aircraft missiles still lighting the sky, flying the ensemble out of Baghdad proves difficult for CM. Moreover, many of the Iraqi musicians do not have basic travel documents; visas have to be issued in a country with no government. Military aircraft fly the INSO to Jordan, and the ensemble lands in D.C. during a major blizzard.