Sunday, March 19, 2023

History of Iraq Since US Invasion of March 19, 2003

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq. Retrospective pieces of varying length,  depth and quality are everywhere in news outlets. The following 10 minute video by Al Jazeera provides a concise overview of the history of Iraq from the invasion of March, 2003 to present. It is less concerned with re-litigating the decision to invade (as many media pieces do) than with showing the impacts on Iraq over the period of time covered. Of course, large books on this topic exist, but I thought this vid managed to pack a lot of important content into a short video essay. Many may remember the war, but increasingly those approaching their prime years in the US have few memories of these events, and many who were adults then never really paid much attention to the multiple perspectives of, and impacts on Iraqis themselves. The extent of the damage left in the wake of the invasion, which  is usually neglected by MSM here, is not only a cautionary tale about bellicose US foreign policy gone awry, but just as important, an opportunity to think about the plight of those for whom the consequences of the war cannot be shunted to the side and ignored like yesterday's news, because its ongoing legacy constitutes the fabric of everyday reality in what is arguably a failed state. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9qe5rWiyNc

Oddly, the video does not show up in Blogger's search engine for youtube links, and pasting it directly does provide a link, but does not make it possible to view on this page. So for those interested, I am placing this excellent short (12 min.) video in a Disqus comment box directly below this OP.


Germaine edit: Here's the video.


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