Iraq Wounded: Twenty Years On, the Toxic Legacies of America’s War Remain
Channel: Institute for Policy Studies
Date: 2023-03-28

Twenty years after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, there has been virtually no real reckoning in the US with the devastation that this country brought through its war. That violence is not only in the past, but impacts Iraqi politics and society in ongoing ways. One of the most brutal legacies of the war is the pervasive toxic contamination that resulted from US military activity.

This is a conversation with Nabil Salih–scholar of Iraqi politics and social movements–and Kali Rubaii–scholar of environmental contamination and researcher on its impacts in Iraqi communities–about Iraqis’ struggles for their country’s future, and the responsibilities of the US government and public.

Speakers:
Nabil Salih is a Baghdadi poet, bilingual journalist and photographer currently completing an MA in Arab Studies at Georgetown University. His writings, including his “Baghdad Walks Series”, appear in Al Jazeera English, Jadaliyya, Middle East Eye and other illustrious publications, and are translated to Spanish, French and Italian. His solo photography exhibition “A Requiem for Baghdad: Postcards from a Crime Scene” is currently on display at Georgetown University’s Lauinger Library.

Kali Rubaii is an assistant professor of Anthropology at Purdue University. Her research explores the environmental impacts of less-than-lethal militarism, and how military projects (re)arrange political ecologies in the name of “letting live.” Her book project, Counter-resurgency, examines how farmers in Anbar, Iraq struggle to survive and recover from transnational counterinsurgency projects.

Moderated by Khury Petersen-Smith, Michael Ratner Middle East Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies.