Iraq

Iraqi Americans in Michigan celebrate execution of Saddam Hussein. Not all Iraqi Americans were so happy. Photo Credit: Associated Press

Imagine you are a person who left your native country because you didn't want to live under its government.  Imagine several decades later, your adopted country chooses to invade your native country and topple the same regime you left under.

What do you do?

Do you celebrate, thrilled that the regime you disliked is now gone?

Or do you mourn as you watch your country, which despite the dictatorship was a vibrant safe place, turn into a place you can barely recognize?

Such is the circumstance of many Iraqi Americans.  Most of the Iraqi's living in the United States disliked Saddam Hussein.  But that doesn't mean they were happy to see U.S. tanks roll into Baghdad to topple his government.

The fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq is upon us.  Over the next couple of weeks, we're bringing you interviews with scholars, veterans, peace activists, and more.  Today, we are bringing you an interview with Dr. Adil Shamoo.  Dr. Shamoo grew up in Iraq, in the Chaldean christian community.  He came to the United States in the 1960's, and he a professor of bioethics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Click here to stream the interview.  Right click here and select "Save Target As" in order to download this interview onto your computer. Want to get this and other podcasts on iTunes?  Click "Read More" below to find out how. Running time is 25:30.  The music heard at the beginning and end of this interview is "Second Baghdad" by the Iraqi musician Rahim Alhaj.

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Most recent articles written by Dr. Adil Shamoo

•  February 22, 2008 The Enduring Trap in Iraq
• December 17, 2007 Winning or Losing in Iraq
• May 31, 2007 The Destruction of Iraqi Healthcare Infrastructure

Other links of interest

• Wikipedia entry about Iraqi American community
• Who are the Chaldean Christians? From BBC.COM
• Voices of Iraqi Americans on War and Peace from KBOO as showcased by the Public Radio Exchange

Yes, it has been quiet in here over the past week but that's only because we've been so hard at work!  We've got lots of new content that will be coming your way this week, so make sure to check back everyday for something new.

IRAQ: FIVE YEARS LATER

Can you believe that on Thursday, March 20th, it will have been five years since the United States led the invasion into Iraq?  Sometimes it seems like the conflict has been dragging on so much longer.  Other times it seems like just yesterday that we were watching American troops help Iraqis pull down that statue of Saddam.

Does it seem that we are talking about Iraq a lot less than we used to? Has the mainstream media totally abdicated responsibility for covering this story, choosing instead to talk about super-delegates and shocking caucus results?  Have the candidates refused to discuss it?  Are we just so relieved that the violence is below pre-surge levels that we feel we can ignore it ?  Are we just bored with it-and misinformed about it?  Why is there not major mainstream media coverage of the winter soldier hearings?

Whatever it is, we know our audience still cares about Iraq and what is happening there, so over this week and next we are bringing you a series of podcasts talking about Iraq.  We're going to hear from scholars, journalists, Iraqis and Iraqi Americans, veterans, peace activists and more.  If you have any ideas for points of view you want us to investigate, let us know!

First up, we wanted to take a look at the intersection of the presidential election and Iraq.  Where do  Senators McCain, Clinton, and Obama stand on the war (click on their names to read their campaign platforms on Iraq)?   What is their history in terms of the Iraq war (Go here for Clinton, here for McCain, and here for Obama)?  What can the beliefs of their advisers tell us about their agenda?  McCain has a reputation for being a maverick-does he have a maverick agenda for Iraq?  Does the fact that he is a veteran give his agenda more credibility? Some people say Hillary and Obama agree on most major policies--is that true for their Iraq plans?  To get to the bottom of these questions, we talked with UMBC history professor Brad Simpson.  He is an astute observer and analyst of U.S. foreign policy. Sure, he's got a point of view and he isn't afraid to voice it, but he's got criticism for both sides of the aisle and he dishes it out with a real knowledge of the issues.

Click here to stream Marc's interview with Brad Simpson.  Right-click here and select "Save Target As" to save the mp3 onto your desktop.  Transcript coming soon. Running time is 27 minutes.

Check back everyday this week for more interviews.  We've got more podcasts about The Wire, and we'll be talking with other folks about Iraq.

Let us know what you think...

-Jessica

What effect has the increased level of US troops, 'the surge,' had in Iraq?  Statistics show decreased levels of violence, but does that constitute a success?  There are still tragic amounts of daily violence, and a host of other problems, throughout Iraq.  What would a "good" outcome to the war look like at this point?

 Joining us today is Nancy Youssef, who just returned from Iraq where she reports for the McClatchy newspapers.  Read her articles here.  Also joining us is Adil Shamoo, who recently wrote an article supporting a military withdrawal from Iraq, which you can read here.

Join us...

-Justin

Well, I hope if any of you aren't members, you will become one after today, because we're gonna be running up the phone bill here at WYPR!

 First--we're going to go to Iraq, to talk with Nancy Youssef of the McClatchy papers.  She's going to share her first-hand perspective of the political and security situation in that country.

Then, we're traveling to Pakistan.  We're going to talk to Shahan Mufti of the Christian Science Monitor, who is reporting from Pakistan.  We'll also talk to Washington College professor Tahir Shad, a Pakistani who is currently in Argentina.  And we'll talk with Kamran Asdar Ali, a Pakistani and professor of Anthropology at the University of Texas.

What do you want to know about the situation in Iraq and Pakistan?  Bring them to the show!

-Jessica

Today we're going to return to a topic we've been covering since the story broke, and that's the case of wounded soldiers being discharged from the Army under Chapter 5-13 "Personality Disorder."  This enables the Army to avoid paying medical and disability benefits for these soldiers.  It was being applied despite the fact that these men passed the Army's rigorous psychological entrance examinations and displayed no prior evidence of mental disorders.  Joshua Kors from The Nation is the one who broke this story (the original article is here,  and he's back with an update, which you can read here.  We'll also be joined by Congressman Phil Harefrom Illinois, who has introduced legislation to stop this kind of discharge, and from Congressman Bob Filner from California, who is the Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs.

We'll also have a statement from the Army.  They declined to come on live. You can read their statement here.  You can also read the statement they sent us on March 27, 2007 here.

-Jessica