In this episode of HistoryAsItHappens, Baghdad native and journalist Ghaith Abdul-Ahad sees the catastrophic consequences of the U.S. invasion through the eyes of ordinary Iraqis as well as hardened jihadists. podcast
This is the second in a multiple-part series of episodes marking the 20th anniversary of the Iraq War, which began on March 20, 2003.
Iraqi voices are largely absent from American retrospectives on the war. Those U.S. retrospectives tend to focus on theBut in this episode of , Baghdad native and The Guardian journalist Ghaith Abdul-Ahad sees the catastrophic consequences of the U.S. invasion through the eyes of ordinary Iraqis as well as hardened jihadists.,” a reporter’s account of the past 20 years, witnessed the collapse of order within hours of the toppling of dictator Saddam Hussein. He watched the Sunni insurgency challenge the U.S. military occupation.
“Iraq is not a democracy. While the constitution guarantees freedom of expression, the new political parties are going back to the penal code of Saddam, created in 1969. This is the kind of mutant state we have today,” said Mr. Abdul-Ahad, who also cited rampant corruption in “statelets” where the central government in Baghdad has limited authority.