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My interviewee was close to tears. A tough former United States army officer, once lauded for the lethal effectiveness of his operations against Iraqi insurgents, he was finding it difficult to get his words out. He said his sole reason for talking to me was to persuade people who would watch my film to think twice about the wisdom of military intervention. War as an institution is pure evil, he told me. Its pure evil.

I had first visited Iraq in 2016 to meet Yazidi refugees fleeing Islamic State, the terrorist group which, at that time, controlled Mosul in the north of the country. I was filming a series of documentaries about the journeys of various refugees from their country of origin to their final destination.

Exodus took four years to make and was a success, but when it was finished, I couldnt get Iraq out of my mind. Having spent a lot of time with my subjects, I felt very connected to their situation. It wasnt just the plight of the Yazidis I was concerned about, it was the state of the whole country.

As with any situation, there are causes and effects going back a long way, but it seemed to me that the toppling of Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi dictator, in 2003 was as good a place as any to start. The falling of that domino led to the destabilisation of the region, and that led to refugees arriving in Europe and that, in turn, was one of the factors in the rise of far-Right nationalism.

Id hear those same far-Right nationalists blaming the refugees themselves for their own plight. Its their fault nothing to do with us. I found it infuriating; the equivalent of burning down someones house and then blaming them for living on the street.

I see the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the subsequent occupation and civil war as the origin story for so much that is still affecting our lives. Hideously ironic, isnt it, that George W Bush and Tony Blairs pre-emptive strike to nip a supposed terrorist threat in the bud should have led directly to the creation of Isil?

I didnt want to make a regular documentary where I interviewed politicians, decision makers and the key players. I wanted to tell the story through the eyes of those whose lives were impacted and altered by those political decisions.

Miriam Walsh, our amazing archive producer, somehow dredged up around 13,000 film clips amounting to 800 hours of footage from 2003 and 2004 showing all kinds of stuff: street scenes, interviews, army activity, the aftermath of insurgent attacks, actual attacks. Much of it had never been seen before. And through the network of contacts I already had in Iraq, we were able to find some of the people featured in this archive and get some astonishing interviews.

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I hope viewers will reflect on the fact that the invasion of Iraq was utterly pointless - Telegraph.co.uk

Pick of the day: Once Upon A Time In Iraq

9pm, BBC Two

The 2003 invasion of Iraq is given a fresh perspective in a series from James Bluemel, the director of the acclaimed Exodus: Our Journey, which put camera phones in the hands of refugees fleeing to Europe. His compelling new documentary is a mosaic of individual witnesses to the US-British conquest and its Isis-infested aftermath, but instead of the usual gamut of politicians and generals, these are normal Iraqis ranging from comedians, formerly West-obsessed teens, a farmers wife from Saddam Husseins home town, Tikrit, and a Saddam loyalist. We also hear from Americans, including a chilling ex-Marine who seems to have modelled himself on Rambo.

8.30pm, BBC Two

Who will be the new Ian Wang or Brandon Blackwell as the student quiz returns for its 27th series since its revival in 1995, with the opening match of the first round seeing the University of Glasgow take on the University of Exeter? Jeremy Paxman has their starters for 10.

9pm, BBC One

Laura Carmichaels performance as the troubled Agnes is the biggest pull in this entertaining if slightly predictable Australian stolen-baby drama her plan moving into overdrive as Meghan prepares to give birth and the hapless Haydenis granted compassionate leave from the Navy.

9pm, ITV

Two contrasting stories this week, as the unfailingly moving series continues with its catch-up episodes. In the case of reunited half-siblings Geoffrey Tonks and Barbara Jacobs, the mutual discovery appears to have been a success, and staring for the first time at a photograph of him with the mother who felt compelled to give him up for adoption, Tonks says with moving simplicity: Sitting on your mothers lap it doesnt get better than this. More complicated is the case of Robert Lindsay from Ayrshire, attempting to build a relationship with his Croatian father.

9pm, Channel 4

Not the most original idea for a documentary series (see also BBC Ones Ambulance), but actually there is a highly topical angle here. It follows West Midlands Ambulance Service at the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic in April, from the perspective of the crews, control room staff and managers as they struggle to get more ambulances onto the front line managers having to deploy student paramedics, to deal with patients with breathing difficulties, in care homes, and with isolation-related mental health issues.

9pm, BBC Four

A look at how the composers return to the town of Heiligenstadt led to one of the most extraordinary outpourings of creativity in the history of music, from the earth-shattering Eroica through to Symphony No 7.

10.45pm, BBC One

The penultimate episode of Michaela Coels superb drama has surprises for all three of the friends as Arabella tries to contact another novelist at her publishing house, Kwame discovers the non-sexual joys of a relationship, and Terrygoes on a most surprising date.

Link:
On TV tonight, Once Upon A Time In Iraq offers fresh perspectives on the 2003 invasion - iNews

The Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein yesterday called on his German counterpart Heiko Maas to support Baghdads removal from the European list of high-risk countries for money laundering and terrorism financing.

In a statement, the Iraqi Foreign ministry said Hussein received a telephone call from his German counterpart, during which they discussed bilateral and regional affairs.

According to the statement, the German minister said that his country will work hard to protect Iraqs sovereignty and will continue its work within the international coalition fighting Daesh.

The Iraqi minister has also called on Germany to use its political and economic influence with regional countries to prevent interference in Iraqs internal affairs, pointing out that Baghdads new foreign policy depends on creating balanced relations with all neighbouring countries based on achieving common interests, solving problems by peaceful means, and distancing Iraq and its people from international and regional tensions.

READ: Germanys ban on Hezbollah bows to Zionist pressure but is of little real importance

Here is the original post:
Iraq calls on Germany to help remove it from EU terror financing list - Middle East Monitor

TEHRAN An informed source at Irans Foreign Ministry has said that Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif plans to visit Iraq on July 19.

Zarif will meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, President Barham Salih and Mohamed al-Halbousi, the speaker of the National Assembly, IRIB reported.

Zarif and Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Mohammed Hussein had a phone conversation in June.

Zarif highlighted the significance of the issues being pursued in bilateral relations and the necessity of implementing the agreements reached between the two sides during the Iranian presidents visit to Baghdad.

President Hassan Rouhani said in May that Irans principled policy is expanding relations and cooperation with Iraq in various areas.

In a phone conversation with Iraqi President Barham Salih, Rouhani attached great importance to expansion of economic relations, saying, Expansion of relations in various areas among the friendly governments and nations can help us pass the problems.

Elsewhere, he said that Iran attaches great importance to stability in Iraq.

The Islamic Republic of Iran will stand beside the Iraqi government and people and seeks to maintain Iraqs sovereignty and prevent foreign intervention, the president pointed out.

Salih, for his part, said cooperation of friendly countries, such as Iran, is required to establish stability in Iraq.

NA/PA

Read the rest here:
Zarif to visit Iraq on July 19 - Tehran Times

In one of the most serious abuses of the judicial system since the legalization of cannabis over the past decade, a Pickens County, Alabama judge has sentenced an Arizona man to five years in prison following the revocation of his probation for a 2016 cannabis arrest.

Iraq War Veteran Sean Worsley was arrested in the town of Gordo for marijuana possession following a routine stop by officers for what was initially a noise complaint. The couple was accused of playing their music too loudly in their car when they stopped for gas, according to the Alabama Political Reporter.

When Officer Carl Abramo said he smelled cannabis, Worsley allowed him to search the vehicle, leading to his arrest.

However, Worsley, who is from Arizona, legally used cannabis for post-traumatic stress disorder. According to APR, he was wounded in an IED attack and suffered from back and shoulder pain. Arizona is one of 33 states where medical cannabis is legal. Alabama is not.

The result, according to The Washington Post, was a years-long legal fight that cost Worsley thousands of dollars and eventually caused him to go homeless, all the while, the legal cannabis industry continued to rake in billions of dollars. At one point, Worsley missed a court date in Alabama when the VA rejected his application for a substance abuse program.

According to APR, Worsleys medical cannabis card expired in Arizona. He was then extradited back to Alabama by state authorities, where he is now awaiting a spot in an Alabama Department of Corrections facility.

Its the sixth circle of hell of this countrys cannabis laws.

I feel like Im being thrown away by a country I went and served for, Worsley wrote in a letter from the Pickens County Jail to Alabama Appleseed, which is a criminal justice organization that has published a detailed account of his case, according to the Washington Post. I feel like I lost parts of me in Iraq, parts of my spirit and soul that I cant ever get back.

Worsleys story is a prime example of not only the terrible discrepancy in state cannabis laws but both the racial disparities of the criminal justice system and Americas lack of appreciation for the men and women who serve this country in uniform.

The Alabama Cannabis Industry Association has seen the need to bring clarity to the laws related to the medical marijuana issue facing our citizens, said Michael Fritz, the general sel for the Alabama Cannabis Industry Association in a statement to APR.

Alabama District Attorney Andrew Hamlin has doubled-down on Worsleys conviction, however. In a letter sent out on Tuesday, he ignored Worsleys service and the legality of cannabis in Arizona, instead choosing to focus on the veterans history of possession arrests. While it is true that Mr. Worsley is a decorated veteran of the United States military, it is also true that he is a criminal that has habitually broken the law in numerous states, wrote Hamlin, who tried to make every excuse he could for arresting and throwing the book at Worsley.

In the meantime, a bill to legalize medical cannabis has passed the Alabama Senate, though that wont help Worsley at this time.

Its time to permit medical cannabis in our state, as our sister states have done and avoid needlessly jamming our already over crowed prisons with marijuana arrests, said Chey Garrigan, the executive director of the ACIA, to APR.

Continue reading here:
Alabama goes full drug war in sentencing Iraq War veteran to five years in prison for cannabis possession - PotNetwork