Once Upon A Time In Iraq

This is a BBC Documentary on events in Iraq starting with the US intervention in 2003, following up to recent events with ISIS. It is 5 episodes long, each an hour, and is based on interviews with civilians and victims of the violence, journalists and soldiers. It takes account of, both, the Iraqi and the US perspective on the events.

The documentary begins with the abolishment of Saddam Hussein's regime and the US intervention, as well as a bit about the time Saddam Hussein was at power. Basically, it opens up the debate about whether the idea of removing Hussein from power was a good idea, a debate which you can find throughout the whole documentary. It is also explicit in its critic on the US intervention in Iraq, outlining how the intervention has led nothing to what was proclaimed. Having covered this debate in various modules for numerous reasons, and even hearing Iraqi students talk about it, I still do not have a clear or in any way justified answer to put an end to the debate. However, the statement that everything occurred so fast that people couldn't cope might have been the most accurate opinion to take away from the first episode. State building can not happen without a plan, neither can it happen over night. 

Episode 2 covered Iraqi insurgencies in light of the US inability to provide security. What I personally found distressing yet essential to the discourse, was the aggressive dimension of the US military made explicit, pointing to US mistakes in lighting fire to the hate towards themselves. This was something that has also been shown in episode 1 at a particular point, but this episode was heavily about the US tactic that gained them more enemies. While the intervention may have not been a good idea in the first place, it definitely became a nightmare at this point. The episode has also brought me back to one of the seminars I had, talking about emotions, such as humiliation and revenge, in relation to the development of such violent events. The election for the Shia regime was also discussed, touching on the Sunni Shia divide. Basically, it covered how a peace-keeping, state-building mission became something totally else; violence.

The third episode talked about the US effort against Al Qaeda, lead by al-Zarqawi, who have taken the opportunity of the unstable situation of Iraq, allocating themselves in midst of Sunni populations. It especially covered the context of a city called Fallujah, also describing how it became a ghost town and battle field. Interesting to note here is the story of a lady, whose son got severely injured, claiming all people fled following US warnings aside from those who could not effort the travel, a pattern that can be seen in all critical areas around the world, eg. the Palestinians in 1947. The episode mainly followed the story of the photographer Ashley Gilbertson, and the death of the marine Billy Miller, while it also touched a bit on the issue of PTSD. Just on a side note, this episode also reminded me of the movie "American Sniper". 

Episode 4 covered the killings of Sunni and Shia, the capture and trials of Saddam Hussein and his execution. The debate on whether Iraq was better off with or without Hussein is again taken into consideration. Interesting interviews on Hussein are displayed, incorporating the views of his close friends, as well as enemies. What I especially liked was the interview with the US guard of Saddam Hussein after he was captured. It gave a first hand account of the charisma Saddam Hussein had. Footages of Hussein's trials were also very interesting to watch, making one understand why there are articles all over the internet citing melancholy over the time Hussein was at power.

Just on a side note here, as well as to account for what went trough my mind, touching on the Sunni and Shia, and the stories of checkpoints and ID cards, it just struck me how much these scenarios resembled the way the Apartheid regime tried to rule over the its community, while far more the resemblance of this event in comparison to the Rwandan Genocide was just simply astonishing to me. 

The last episode talks about all the events afterward, especially in regard to ISIS, mentioning propaganda, the Camp Speicher massacre, with an interview on the only known survivor, and the occupation of the city Mosul as well as Mosul Eye. It also follows the story of an Iraqi who has fled to Canada.

This can be said about all the episodes, and each of the stories, however, the amount of violence is so huge it becomes surreal. And the pain of all people involved stood out. 

I have deliberately tried to avoid voicing my opinions or emotions on this topic this time, although I know they are present in this text. This is because it troubles me to judge these events or speak for their experiences with my limited knowledge. These events have been the reality of numerous people with whom I even share the same time to be alive, while I had a great life. And I cannot help but see the unfairness of the world and the stark contrast of experience in politics, security, social life and violence that I had from them. Hence, I do not want to impose any of my values which just seem so insignificant. To be honest, the simple reason I am writing this is for me to remember where to find what kind of content. But if anyone should have clicked this piece, I can only recommend this series, especially to those who would like to get an insight into the voices of the people engaged in the events of Iraq. See for yourself what kind of emotions it brings up. However, I have to warn you.. the visuals, the violence, the blood, all of these are not blended out or anything, which might disturb some people.

Just to touch on the point of Saddam Hussein, an opinion I would like to make clear, however, is that I am in no way an admirer of Saddam Hussein or the Baathist party, as it is not in my intention to support oppression and the killing of innocent people. However, I have to admit and I follow to a certain degree the claim of my professor, Ahron Bregman, a great expert in the Middle East if you ask me, while he is neither a supporter, I can see why some are tempted to think highly of him, given that a certain level of security, public service and social life existed under his regime whereas what is left now is constant violence and fear. Moreover, under his regime, the Sunni, Shia and Kurds were all Baathists and Iraqis, though I do not claim that that was their will, living in peace with each other instead of constant anxiousness. 

All these stories covered in this documentary reminded me a lot about the discussions in my modules and seminars. Having just discussed numerous forms of governance in comparison to (fragile) states, taking also institutions such as ISIS in account in one of my seminars last week, what struck me was a man in one of the interviews moving into an ISIS dominated city away from Sunni and Shia fighting areas, as it was safer for him as a Shia, to live in an environment where he knew who his enemy was in contrast to the chaos going on elsewhere where you can be killed anytime. 

Well, in the end, amidst numerous opinions, I guess we can all agree on the same ground that Iraqi civilians had unfortunately been victims of brutal violence, following the events of US intervention. While the documentary ended on a rather pessimistic outlook for the future of Iraq, and I actually cannot help but to pick up that line of thought, I would like to end this post with my naive outlook of a better future and my prayers for peace, security and a functioning system of governance in Iraq.