Iraq: 20 Years On

Twenty years on, as politicians, analysts and journalists consider the anniversary of the US-led invasion and the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, an entire generation of Iraqis are too young to have any recollection of the war. They are the young Iraqi men and women who represent the present and the future rather. They have inherited the burden of the past but will shape the future. In this episode, host Mina Al-Oraibi discusses the future of Iraq with three students of the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani (AUIS), and Mina Aldroubi senior reporter at The National. This episode was produced by Doaa Farid, editing and sound design by Arthur Eddyson, music by Naseer Shamma

America's decision to go to war in 2003 and remove the regime of Saddam Hussein has shaped much of the century for Iraq, the region, the United States and arguably the world. In this episode, host Mina Al-Oraibi discusses how the world has changed since the US-led invasion with Emma Sky, founding director of Yale's International Leadership Centre, Douglas A. Silliman, president of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington and the ambassador to Iraq from 2016-2019, and, Paul Salem, President and CEO of the Middle East Institute based in Washington. This episode was produced by Doaa Farid, editing and sound design by Arthur Eddyson, music by Naseer Shamma

When politicians, journalists, academics and others talk of the 2003 war in Iraq, they often speak in numbers, the money it cost, the estimated number of people killed and injured, the number of foreign troops stationed there, and so on. But for Iraqis, the conversation is often about what cannot be measured in numbers: the immense sense of loss, the dashed hopes and the trauma of compounded crises that predate 2003. In this episode, Iraqi energy expert Ali Al-Saffar speaks in a personal capacity about his father’s kidnapping in 2006, how he remembers him and how little is known about him since that fateful day. This episode was produced by Doaa Farid, editing and sound design by Arthur Eddyson, music by Naseer Shamma.

Twenty years ago, when confronted with the reality of the US-led invasion, there were hopes that the removal of Saddam Hussein would lead to Iraq realising its vast potential. The first few months after March 2003, with the American occupation under way, witnessed upheaval and chaos mixed with new-found liberties of expression and movement. It led many to say that time would tell whether the war was a bitter but actually necessary pill for a better future. But the twenty intervening years have not given us a clear answer. In this episode, host Mina Al-Oraibi explores how the US-led invasion has changed Iraq and Iraqis with Fanar Haddad, Assistant Professor of Arab Studies at University of Copenhagen, Miina Ali, a certified language trainer in Iraq, and Ali Al-Shouk, senior reporter at The National. This episode was produced by Doaa Farid, editing and sound design by Arthur Eddyson, music by Naseer Shamma

We mark 20 years since the US-led invasion of Iraq with a special podcast series, examining the era which shaped a generation. We feature stories, reflections and experiences from Iraq, 2003, the present and the future.   1d9287aa240487760d53c82e1f8c29945fd2ee6c