Once upon a time in Iraq
Discussion
Just watched episode 1 on iplayer and I completely echo whats been said about the ex marine.
It was quite thought provoking for me looking at things from the iraqi civilian perspective. I was there in 2003 as a young infantry soldier. On the ground out there we had very little idea of the bigger picture at the time. I've watched many documentaries about the conflict but usually following the war from a military viewpoint.
Saddam was an absolute b
d, I don't think many would try to say otherwise but in hindsight, was the country/world better before our intervention?
It was quite thought provoking for me looking at things from the iraqi civilian perspective. I was there in 2003 as a young infantry soldier. On the ground out there we had very little idea of the bigger picture at the time. I've watched many documentaries about the conflict but usually following the war from a military viewpoint.
Saddam was an absolute b
d, I don't think many would try to say otherwise but in hindsight, was the country/world better before our intervention?excellent series, i think we can agree, and Vietnam should have been a clue to the yanks, that some countries don't appreciate being
invaded by a foreign power in order to change regimes, restore order, introduce democracy.
countries like Iraq have no-one but themselves to blame for their precarious situation,
they chose not to grasp the chance of freedom from tyranny, and deserve to remain
blasted stholes of abject misery.
invaded by a foreign power in order to change regimes, restore order, introduce democracy.
countries like Iraq have no-one but themselves to blame for their precarious situation,
they chose not to grasp the chance of freedom from tyranny, and deserve to remain
blasted s
tholes of abject misery. I remember watching a news based documentary about inside Iraq during Saddam's reign, was one of the most fascinating things I ever watched about the conflict times there.
I have tried to find it numerous times since and been unable to, it was basically about a guy who was taken there as a journo to film the nuclear plants and how much they were NOT making WMD material etc, but obviously he was really there to uncover what it was like and for people trying to leave, taking huge risks with hidden camera's etc.
Found some amazing stuff about Sharia law, public executions, the medical stockpiling, and the way people who tried to leave or were thought of as informants families were summarily slaughtered, changed my opinion a little on the war, and even though the way in we had second time was flawed you can see why any outer power would want to get rid of this maniac really.
But it appears to have largely backfired for numerous reasons. Would love to watch it again if it rings anyone's memory and know where it is online.
I have tried to find it numerous times since and been unable to, it was basically about a guy who was taken there as a journo to film the nuclear plants and how much they were NOT making WMD material etc, but obviously he was really there to uncover what it was like and for people trying to leave, taking huge risks with hidden camera's etc.
Found some amazing stuff about Sharia law, public executions, the medical stockpiling, and the way people who tried to leave or were thought of as informants families were summarily slaughtered, changed my opinion a little on the war, and even though the way in we had second time was flawed you can see why any outer power would want to get rid of this maniac really.
But it appears to have largely backfired for numerous reasons. Would love to watch it again if it rings anyone's memory and know where it is online.
coppernorks said:
countries like Iraq have no-one but themselves to blame for their precarious situation,
they chose not to grasp the chance of freedom from tyranny, and deserve to remain
blasted stholes of abject misery.
Not entirely true that it's their own fault. In fact the nation state of modern day Iraq only arose following the carving up of the Ottoman empire by Western nations to largely suit their own interests following WW1. That's how it came to be a nation of different sects and cultures. Saddam was an evil dictator, no doubt about that. But some might say, the sectarian nature of the country meant it was only such a leader that would stop the country disintegrating into chaos and violence. Pretty much, what has happened since he was removedthey chose not to grasp the chance of freedom from tyranny, and deserve to remain
blasted s
tholes of abject misery. I am really ‘enjoying’ this series, having been younger and more ignorant when it happened, it has taught me lots of things.
Love how they have managed to interview people from the old clips - the young smoking interpreter man is a very engaging, intelligent speaker.
Love how they have managed to interview people from the old clips - the young smoking interpreter man is a very engaging, intelligent speaker.
pidsy said:
The American ex special forces guy came across as a complete prick.
The rest of it was interesting.
Thought it was Ant Middleton trying to inflate his reputation a bit more to start with! Clearly a cartoonish idiot but you can catch glimpses that he is five bottles of tequila away from some kind of mental breakdown/public shoot-out.The rest of it was interesting.
Just finished the last episode - pretty depressing 
So much done wrong - foreigners not understanding the country they're trying to 'help'
The 'Mosul Eye' guy was incredibly brave, I wondered how his family fared after he fled (assuming they stayed) ?
His comment 'Once you are part of ISIS .... you are monster...' was telling
The cadets who were separated into Shia/Sunni (for obvious reasons!) how could they tell who was which ?
What do we do the next time similar thing happens?
Regime-change eg: Iraq or leave as-is: eg: Syria
If no invasion of Iraq had taken place, one wonders what would have happened when Saddam went ?
I'm guessing less bad as Al-Qaeda + ISIS were formed as a reaction to US/UK action
So much done wrong - foreigners not understanding the country they're trying to 'help'
The 'Mosul Eye' guy was incredibly brave, I wondered how his family fared after he fled (assuming they stayed) ?
His comment 'Once you are part of ISIS .... you are monster...' was telling
The cadets who were separated into Shia/Sunni (for obvious reasons!) how could they tell who was which ?
What do we do the next time similar thing happens?
Regime-change eg: Iraq or leave as-is: eg: Syria
If no invasion of Iraq had taken place, one wonders what would have happened when Saddam went ?
I'm guessing less bad as Al-Qaeda + ISIS were formed as a reaction to US/UK action
I thought this was an excellent series.
Having all the different voices for all sides, and especially tracking down the people who were in the old footage, was a really hard-hitting.
The girl/women with her eye blown out was really sobering. I cannot imagine how that Aussie photographer must feel.
The whole episode was a complete mess, makes you think just leaving Saddam in place was probably the better option.
Having all the different voices for all sides, and especially tracking down the people who were in the old footage, was a really hard-hitting.
The girl/women with her eye blown out was really sobering. I cannot imagine how that Aussie photographer must feel.
The whole episode was a complete mess, makes you think just leaving Saddam in place was probably the better option.
My God, this series has been a difficult watch.
The last episode was particularly gut wrenching, the Shia army cadet recounting the mass murder of 1500 of his fellow recruits. No words.
Just what is it with the hatred between Sunni & Shia?
For though the world has stood up and stopped the bd, the bh that bore him is in heat again.
The last episode was particularly gut wrenching, the Shia army cadet recounting the mass murder of 1500 of his fellow recruits. No words.
Just what is it with the hatred between Sunni & Shia?
For though the world has stood up and stopped the b
d, the bh that bore him is in heat again.The thing that staggers you is the minority in power against the majority, how did they ever expect it to end up. And how all of a sudden like the comedian and the guy who was talking initially, all of a sudden the difference became a big thing, between the two factions, when under Saddam it never seemed to be.
Like Afghanistan, I can only surmise it is largely tribal, something we in Britain do not really understand easily.
Or America which, though well intentioned initially, is why we should never really have expected to make any difference, as how on earth could we understand that.
Like Afghanistan, I can only surmise it is largely tribal, something we in Britain do not really understand easily.
Or America which, though well intentioned initially, is why we should never really have expected to make any difference, as how on earth could we understand that.
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