The fifth anniversary of the Iraq war is about to come upon us, and so too will an endless amount of media coverage on the issue. Later in the week I'll be writing up some personal reflections on the anniversary, but today I've compiled some of the better anniversary stories that have already popped up. First, take a look at NEWSWEEK's in-depth look at where the Army stands (plus these great video interviews with soldiers now in Iraq), and then see below for how other stories address the past five years.
On Sunday The New York Times gave former Baghdad bureau chief John F. Burns a few column inches to give his take on where the war has taken us. Burns penned this article at the war's outset which I've always considered to be an amazing piece of journalism. For Sunday's article, Burns, who spent five years in Iraq, reflects on his position as a journalist covering the war; and on the larger meaning for both the U.S. and Iraq. As his opening line puts it ("Five years on, it seems positively surreal"), Burns seems in awe of the course the war has taken; and frustrated over miscalculations that occurred. He writes of watching the first U.S. air strikes from a Baghdad roof:
...from that first impact, among many on the roof, the mood was scarcely one of cool detachment, or at least not as cautioned as it might have been by the longer-term implications of what we were seeing. Part of it, no doubt, was the air show — the sheer, astonishing, overwhelming demonstration of power, more like an act of God than man, unleashing in those watching from the roof something approaching awe. But the larger part, the one that seems surreal now in the light of all that has followed, was the sense that, with the beginning of the end of Saddam Hussein’s evil, the suffering of millions of ordinary Iraqis that we had chronicled, and pitied, was ending.
For an international view of the fifth anniversary, take a listen to four top BBC journalists who discuss what arose from the rubble of Saddam's regime, and the wider impact on other Arab states. The introductory text to the radio documentary has this telling observation:
It's been said that, if 11th September 2001 was the day the world changed for America, then 20th March 2003 was the day America changed for the world.
IAVA blogger Ray Kimball, an Army major and Iraq vet, reflects on leading his men through the opening days of the war and how he still thinks about the choices he made:
Five years later, looking back on it, different fears come to the fore. Did the choices that I made during those weeks shape what happened later? What could I have done differently? I remember distinctly driving by groups of looters who were busy dragging all they could grab out of government buildings. At the time, I decided that it was probably appropriate that ordinary Iraqis, who had been under Saddam’s thumb for so long, were finally getting some of theirs back. We now know that some of that looting destroyed critical infrastructure that would be vital in the coming months in trying to get a new Iraqi government on its feet. Hindsight is always 20-20, and yet, there is still the nagging feeling that I could have made different choices that might have helped lead to different outcomes.
The LA Daily News provided this look at a group using the anniversary to protest the war as part of a larger, worldwide series of such events. While the protest was attended by celebrities, as well as Vietnam vet Ron Kovic (of Born On the Fourth of July), the article offered a particularly telling moment: when two Iraq vets were noticed watching the protest, the reporter notes:
-"We have a surplus of hippies and a shortage of hand grenades," [the vet] said. He said the war cost him his marriage, and that he saw some of his friends die.
-The back of his sign read, "My sacrifice was not in vain."
-Several protesters walked up and greeted him, said he looked angry and offered him a hug - he declined - and asked how they could make him happy
-His response: "Go home."
New Jersey's Gloucester County Times took a look at how the war has affected a wide spectrum of people: from veterans, to family, to a VA worker. Marine Richard J. Maxie Jr. told the paper:
Despite the calls to bring the troops home, the constant media attention surrounding the war and the coming election, Maxie is steadfast in believing that the troops have accomplished something good in Iraq.
"They only see the bad things," said Maxie said of the media's portrayal of the war. "They don't really know kids are going to school and the Iraqis can go into the streets and not have to watch over their shoulders all the time.
Angelo Romeo, a local VA director, told the paper his impressions of what the newest vets coming home face:
Romeo says of the ones he has talked to that most of them are holding their experiences inside. He recalled hearing an instance about the friend of a new veteran who was complaining about a stressful day at work.
The soldier had served as an explosives detonation expert.
"I've seen them in social situations with their friends from high school and college. There's a bit of a disconnect."
The Iraq war's fifth anniversary isn't the only Iraq anniversary occurring this week. It was 20 years ago when Saddam Hussein killed at last 5,000 Kurds in chemical bombing attacks.
There's sure to be much more Iraq war anniversary coverage through the week. Stay tuned.
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