Finally finished reading Anthony Shadid's "Night Draws Near: Iraq's People in the Shadow of America's War." It's a valuable book in several respects, perhaps most as a counterpoint to Thomas Ricks' "Fiasco." "Fiasco" is essentially a military history of the war; Shadid focuses exclusively on the sentiments of the Iraqi people themselves.
In one memorable scene, Ricks is walking at the front of a military patrol shortly after the fall of Saddam, interviewing soldiers who tell him that 85 percent of the Iraqi people fully support the U.S. invasion. At the back of the patrol, Shadid, who speaks Arabic, is interviewing Iraqis who present a far more skeptical picture -- even at that early date, Shadid says, no more than half of those he interviewed expressed support for the invasion.
Shadid also thoroughly outlines the history of Iraqi misery and repression, especially over the last 35 years. The Iran-Iraq War, a vague footnote in most Americans' memories, looms huge in the reactions and fears of Iraqis. The utter chaos of the post-war occupation, Iraqi skepticism over U.S. intentions, and the competing factions within Iraq all get thorough coverage.
The most useful thing the book does is this: It reminds us that the war isn't just about the troops. It's about a lot of suffering people, doing their best to scrape together some kind of order out of years of chaos. Sadly, it is this aspect of the war that often seems to be totally forgotten in this country, both by the anti-war left and the pro-war neocons. Shadid reminds us that when we say it's better to fight terrorists over there than here, that has real, and deadly, consequences for a lot of people who deserve better.
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2 comments:
Nice review of the book. Sounds interesting. I've heard that the books on the Iraq War are fantastic, covering the conflict much better than any of the other media -- newspaper, television, etc. Based on the books that have come out on the topic, this and "Fiasco," for example, that appears to be the case.
BTW, as an anti-war lefty, I'm definitely well aware of the damage we're doing to Iraq and Iraqis. But I don't think that resonates with Americans. They're a long way off, after all. Like the swollen-bellied children of Africa, it's just another tragedy taking place on the other side of the planet...
Jay, I'm not so sure that the books cover the conflict better -- both Ricks and Shadid are newspaper reporters, after all -- but they do a much better job of putting all of the pieces together in a way that makes sense and adds perspective. Even very good reporters have a hard time doing that in daily journalism.
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