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Iraq War

Smoke rises from the Trade Ministry in Baghdad after it was hit by a missile during US-led attacks, March 20, 2003.

An Iraq vet grapples with lingering toll of war

Military

Former US Army Sgt. Kayla Williams, who is currently a senior policy researcher at RAND Corporation, was among the 160,000 coalition troops who were deployed for the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq. Now, 20 years later, she reflects on her experiences with The World’s host Marco Werman.

Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, author of the book, "A Stranger in Your Own City: Travels in the Middle East's Long War," in Istanbul, Turkey.

Iraqi author Ghaith Abdul-Ahad on the ‘unbuilding’ of Baghdad

Conflict & Justice
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell gestures during a lecture about business management and leadership in Madrid, Spain

In the post-Cold War era, Colin Powell became the most ‘popular and influential’ US military leader, biographer says

Obituary
White-gloved hand holds ancient artifact known as the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet.

Iraq needs to reclaim its cultural past to develop its future, art historian says

Culture
Iraqis put up a poster announcing the upcoming visit of Pope Francis and a meeting with a revered Shiite Muslim leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, right, in Najaf, Iraq, March 4, 2021.

Pope Francis’ historic trip to Iraq embraced by many as a welcome boost

Sacred Nation
A large, beige building

US Embassy closure in Iraq would hand Tehran a ‘strategic victory,’ says former Iraqi amb to UN

Foreign policy

Feisal al-Istrabadi, the former Iraqi ambassador to the United Nations, joins The World’s host Marco Werman to talk about the potential closure of the US Embassy in Baghdad’s Green Zone.

Members of Iraqi security forces are seen in front of US Embassy during a protest.

Iraq lacks ‘national leadership, a clear vision and hope,’ says Iraqi businessman

Tensions may be easing around the US Embassy in Baghdad, but the underlying concerns about an escalation of the violent rivalry between Iran and the United States have not gone away.

The ruins of a bombed base in Iraq.

US responds to deadly attack at Iraq base

Conflict & Justice

On Friday, an Iranian-backed militia group attacked a US base, known as K1, in Iraq, killing an American contractor. Shortly after, the US struck the bases of an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia in retaliation. Carol Hills spoke with a former veteran who served at K1 to discuss the role that contractors play in US war zones.

Three men in suits stand with their heads bowed.

Analysis: Trump’s reversal in Syria was a play to keep his base intact

Commentary

When the White House withdrew US troops from Syria, it unwittingly sacrificed one of its core constituencies’ dearest causes — Christians in the Middle East. US actions in the region since the early October withdrawal have been a response to their ire. It’s working — for now.

Hadi Jasim was an Iraqi translator for the US military. Now he's a "global guide" at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia.

This Philadelphia museum hired Iraqi and Syrian refugees as tour guides for its Middle East gallery

Arts, Culture & Media

Refugees from Syria and Iraq help visitors at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology make connections between history and the present day.