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With unique personal archive from civilians and soldiers from both sides of the conflict, this series takes viewers closer to the realities of war and life under ISIS than they have ever been before.
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00:00Now, what are your preferences with regards to vaping or not?
00:19Vaping, whatever you want to do, yeah.
00:21Yeah?
00:22Yeah.
00:24In sha Allah, you will be able to do everything you want.
00:28I'm happy to hear someone.
00:31I'm happy to hear someone.
00:32I'm happy to hear someone.
00:33I'm happy to hear someone.
00:34I'm happy to hear someone.
00:38Removing Saddam Hussein from power was the right decision,
00:42and rescued millions from unspeakable horrors.
00:48This isn't about a lie or a conspiracy or a deceit or a deception.
00:51It's a decision.
00:53And I do genuinely believe that the world is safer as a result.
01:00The politicians have had their say.
01:04In this series, the story of the Iraq war is told by the civilians, journalists and soldiers who lived through the 2003 invasion and the years of chaos that continue to this day.
01:17Anybody can invade a country. Anybody can go to war. It's what happens if you win.
01:23Through their eyes, we'll see how events in Iraq have changed the world.
01:28Hi, I'm the lieutenant colonel Nate Sassman and the battalion commander for 1st battalion, 8th infantry regiment.
01:35We sowed the seeds of ISIS in 2003.
01:39We didn't.
01:40The only choice you have is either to be a victim or to be the killer.
01:49Of the U.S. Time of war and the Vietnam War and the Japanese.
01:52The war and the military are not rich.
01:54The war and the military are not very screwed.
01:55And the one thing I'm concerned about is that it's a party.
01:58It's not as a war.
01:59The war and the war and the time of the war,
02:00We start.
02:01Are we starting?
02:08Yeah, we can start.
02:09I'd be interested to know where you would begin at the series like this.
02:12Oh, man.
02:14Well, Iraq should not be connected to 9-11, but unfortunately it is.
02:21You know?
02:22That was the kickoff.
02:26Iraq continues to flaunt its hostility toward America and to support terror.
02:31States like these and their terrorist allies constitute an axis of evil.
02:41That's when we knew, shit, we are getting blamed for this.
02:49There was a sense of relief.
02:53Allied troops have begun moving into position near the Iraqi border.
02:57The war plans are finalized.
02:59The training is over.
03:00It seems increasingly likely that military action against Iraq could be imminent.
03:16At the start of 2003, over 300,000 coalition troops from mostly America and Britain had
03:23been deployed in preparation for the invasion of Iraq, and the whole country knew war was coming.
03:31Okay, New York, we're starting the show.
03:34Five, four, three, two, one.
03:38Hi, and welcome.
03:40I'm Vanessa Rae, and today we're participating in a historic discussion between the young people
03:45of two countries on the brink of war.
03:47And let's everyone in New York say hi to everyone over in Baghdad.
03:51Hi.
03:51And if you guys could say hi back to us, just so we know that you saw us.
03:58Hi, people of America.
04:01It's very weird looking at yourself, you know, as a young man.
04:06I think I was 18 years old at that time.
04:09I mean, am I wrong or did I sound like Borat?
04:13You know, it's like, I don't know.
04:14It's like, hello, people of America.
04:16I'm generally interested in computers, and I like internet, I like email, and all this
04:24stuff.
04:25Let's live a happy life, and let's rock and roll.
04:30You know, I love rock a lot.
04:32Listen for some Metallica, it will help you.
04:34Let's take a little bit more of an in-depth look with this first video from Waleed, who,
04:39as we all know by now, is a rocker.
04:41Let's check it out.
04:46So I formed this little group, and we were the only heavy metal band in rock.
05:00I was infatuated with the West.
05:05I wanted everything that was Western.
05:07It's like, I wanted the blue jeans, I wanted the skateboards, I wanted the headphones, I wanted
05:13all of these things that I grew up watching, and that's how I learned English.
05:18It was from movies and songs.
05:25It's a cool place, but it's a fake McDonald's.
05:29We thought that it's real McDonald's, and the first moment that we saw it, oh, we have
05:33McDonald's here in the rock.
05:34You know, I hadn't met that many Americans at that time, but there are so many things
05:46about America that we appreciate, we like, we want.
05:51So when I hear, you know, statements like, they hate our freedom and our democracy, it's
05:55like, no, we actually love it.
05:57We freaking love it.
05:59That's all we wanted.
06:04Despite 24 years of Saddam's brutal regime, Baghdad was considered to be one of the most
06:10liberal and cosmopolitan cities in the Middle East.
06:17I want to ask about Backstreet Boys.
06:20What do you know about them?
06:21What are their latest?
06:22I got to be honest.
06:23I think the Backstreet Boys have some really, really catchy tunes, so I'm definitely down
06:28with the Backstreet Boys.
06:30They are socks, you know?
06:33I always want to be one of the Backstreet Boys when I was a teenager.
06:39I even know the dancers, like, I was like, ah, dang.
06:43I had the same clothes, the white pants and the open shirts.
06:47And I got to be at high school with these things, so, sup, my name is Kevin, not Ahmed.
06:58No!
07:00Ahmed al-Bashir is now a famous comedian.
07:04He presents a satirical show that's watched by 19 million Iraqis and regularly pokes fun
07:10at the leaders of ISIS.
07:12But as a teenager, he had to hide his interest in the West from his family.
07:30I have the tape player and I play it like, it's very low level.
07:35So, sometimes I put it into my ear so I can hear the music.
07:40And later on, I bring my tapes in the car, when I drive the car.
07:47My father was very religious.
07:49I remove the Quran or the Anashid tape.
07:53I put my music.
07:56I go crazy.
07:58The music is very high.
08:02Come on.
08:05Bang, bang, lay, lay.
08:07I was always asking myself why I wasn't born in the Western world.
08:17I shouldn't be born in this world.
08:23Being a teenager in Iraq is an interesting time.
08:28On the one hand, teenagers are teenagers wherever you are,
08:32but then you have the extra spice of being in Iraq and Baghdad at that time.
08:38Because there was darkness in us that was induced by where we are
08:42and what was happening all around us, that was quite dangerous.
08:51It is so grace and gentle and will be the youth of Iraq.
08:55And this song is especially dedicated to the President Saddam Hussein.
09:03You have to have a song for Saddam,
09:05in case the Iraqi intelligence basically are to come and they're like,
09:09who are these guys, why are they singing American music?
09:12What's wrong with the哎fran ini?
09:15We are the youthful population.
09:24We are the youthful Cow5 drag.
09:28Every thing was pro saddam.
09:30There's no such thing as not pro saddam,
09:33like it doesn't exist.
09:35regime propaganda was everywhere and a whole generation of Iraqis had grown up
09:49only knowing life under Saddam I remember is when I get into the school I see paintings of Mickey Mouse
10:07and the picture of Saddam Hussein I saw his picture everywhere
10:14whenever his name is mentioned you not just mention his name you have to say may God protect him may
10:26God save him may Allah give him more life may God takes our lives and give it to him because
10:34without him we can't survive and being a child I thought he's immortal we are humans but he is
10:47something different at some point I thought he's my grandfather because I see him everywhere and
11:07he was like yeah this is my grandfather he's cute he's good blah blah blah he's brave this is what
11:12they teach us in the schools and then when I was like 12 or maybe 11 12 I realized I that no is
11:20the president of the country and I have to never say anything bad about him because I will be killed
11:25and there's this guy called hasan and it was like cut up Saddam which means like shit on Saddam every
11:31time he says it's like oh my god just shut the fuck up like zip it zip it and he's like so it's okay to
11:37say fuck God and I was like yes but fuck Saddam and I was like no because you don't know who's listening
11:44and that's what he created the idea that your next-door neighbor your brother your cousin anyone
11:53could be the one that reports you
11:56Let's steal, you don't know who he is
12:07orked
12:08or
12:11I see
12:14a
12:17I
12:19I
12:21I
12:22I
12:23I
12:25I
12:26If you die, you're going to die,
12:28and you're going to die.
12:39You're going to die.
12:42You're going to die.
12:44You're going to die.
12:48It was a little bit...
12:56How many of you feel hopeful that things could resolve themselves?
13:00I don't think anybody is hopeful,
13:02because President Bush went up and said,
13:05I will bomb Iraq.
13:07Do you think we have any hope?
13:09We don't want any more wars, okay?
13:17The infamous deck of cards, the 55.
13:22Huda, Saleh, Mahdi, Amash.
13:25She was part of the government,
13:27one of the only females in Saddam's cabinet.
13:29You know, it was like a very high-ranking individual.
13:32We're sitting as you are sitting,
13:34looking right at us.
13:36And she was like,
13:37and know that Iraq depends on you
13:39to transfer a good image
13:42about what we truly are all about.
13:46I think that Saddam Hussein has had 12 years
13:50since the Persian Gulf War
13:52to get rid of his weapons of mass destruction.
13:55And he should be ousted
13:56for the sake of the Iraqi people
13:58as well as for the sake of peace in the world.
14:01We have a solution.
14:03Your government will acquit and give up
14:06and just turn the soldiers back home
14:10and have a rest and let the world be in peace.
14:13Yet, we were free enough during Saddam's time
14:19to go back and forth
14:21without worrying about a car bomb
14:24or this Islamic group
14:25or that religious group, you know?
14:28That's what Saddam actually provided proper to Iraq.
14:33It was safety and security
14:36from everything else, not from him.
14:38Saddam's opponents called his police state
14:43the Republic of Fear.
14:45But many Iraqis were genuinely devoted
14:48to their president.
14:51Saddam's good.
14:53We were just,
14:55we were just,
14:56we were just,
14:57we loved him.
14:58We loved him.
14:59He was very strong.
15:01I mean,
15:02with the king,
15:03he was king of them.
15:04With the king,
15:05he was king of them.
15:07He was especially popular with Sunni Muslims.
15:10Though a minority,
15:11their sect,
15:12had governed Iraq for centuries.
15:16He was a goodman king of Iraq,
15:17with the faith.
15:19It was great.
15:21It was a great.
15:25And he became a model for all of us.
15:27It's really important!
15:31Even from my Daniels.
15:33Even from my spirit.
15:35Even from my face.
15:36I tried to reduce Saddam Hsien
15:38but I couldn't do it for him.
15:39I couldn't do it for him.
15:40The personality and the kind of
15:42fantasia of Saddam Hsien
15:43He was a very strong man, from God.
15:57We also taught him how to eat a cigar,
16:02and we were able to see him very beautiful,
16:08with his son.
16:13I'm not
16:21Iraqis they love moustache and they think it's very nice and sexy for the men and
16:28I think in that time it was trending the moustache thing
16:32We'd love so down very much. So look this big mustache that people ask us ask kisses. Yes
16:39Though oil had made iraq rich most of the people in rural areas were still living in poverty
16:50Saddam China cool Joe watch a little hack
16:56It's not a young
16:58Yeah, I mean, my lady look what comes in not cool. Hey
17:01Yeah
17:03They couldn't now kill alaq maladijaj
17:07Maa chef naraha cool. I'll help help
17:11Yeah, I'm wrong. Ma be a daai khalas
17:14Harb ira harb al kwee harb madri wane
17:19I mean a tab in a hail of
17:25Unka say grew up on a farm in al-a-lam near Saddam's hometown of Tikrit
17:31Like most of central Iraq, it was assumed to be loyal to Saddam.
18:01But after that, I tried to make a mistake.
18:17We're going to kill them.
18:24Don't be afraid.
18:25Don't be afraid of people.
18:28I don't want to get rid of it.
18:58I was pro-war. Absolutely pro-war.
19:09Saddam Hussein and his sons must leave Iraq within 48 hours.
19:17Their refusal to do so will result in military conflict.
19:22When we started hearing the murmurs that we are about to be invaded,
19:27I was excited.
19:29It's almost the end.
19:32Let's just push through. Let's push through. Let's get this shit done.
19:36And then a better thing is going to come.
19:40The land of dreams.
19:57I'm going to enter the first mid-range完璧.
20:02I've got to enter the first mid-range shortly.
20:05The coast of Africa is going to enter the first mid-range.
20:07It's about the first mid-range,
20:10which is the first mid-range from an inch.
20:13The first mid-rangement is in the middle of the height.
20:16I'm going to enter the first mid-range scene.
20:18It's almost the first mid-range semester.
20:19There is a better depressive level.
20:21The first mid-rangement ofериos of the snow,
20:22this year is about to submit to the first mid-range blocks.
20:26I'm a kid, I'm going to put a light on the lights and let it all be soft.
20:41And we're going to put the lights and the lights on.
20:45It's been a long time since I've been living in my life.
20:59I remember that it was a monster that was close to our house.
21:18What did my mother do?
21:21What did my mother do?
21:24I mean, all of us, my brothers and my brothers, even after the death of Des, he came to us.
21:33You must have been scared.
21:36A kid.
21:54We got him.
22:07I love him.
22:09Yes, I love you.
22:11Yes, I love you.
22:14The
22:30down bush
22:33all the people
22:34look Saddam Hussein
22:36and said
22:37yes to Saddam Hussein
22:44I was going out
22:51amidst all of that
22:54I was looking for cigarettes
22:56I'm a heavy smoker
22:58and I heard that one of the shops are still open
23:01and they're still selling cigarettes
23:03so I stole or took borrowed my cousin's small little bike
23:07so it was a small little bike and here I am
23:09you know it's like
23:11you know it's like cycling on this thing
23:14but then all of a sudden
23:17it got dark
23:19and I look up
23:21and there's this black cloud
23:23that engulfed everything around me
23:27and I remember like I was just like
23:29what the
23:30like what's going on
23:35and then I discovered what it was
23:37this is what Saddam did
23:39they dug wells
23:42and they dumped crude oil
23:45in it
23:46and they lit it on fire
23:47so that they can create visual distraction
23:52for the American pilots
23:57they were thinking
23:58that these guys are using visuals
24:01to actually bomb
24:03not satellite guided missiles
24:04and stuff like that
24:05they thought that
24:06oh the plane is going to come
24:07the pilot looks like this
24:08and he was like
24:09oh yeah there is a target over here
24:10let's shoot right over there
24:11let's shoot right over there
24:17so all of Baghdad
24:18all of a sudden
24:19you had all of these like wells of oil
24:21burning up
24:22and the sky literally just going dark
24:25during the invasion
24:32during the invasion
24:33Saddam reassured the country
24:35that Iraq was winning the war
24:37but the Americans were broadcasting a very different message
24:48the Iraqi soldiers and officers must ask themselves whether they want to die fighting for a doomed regime
24:59what will follow will not be a repeat of any other conflict
25:03it will be of a force and scope and scale beyond what has been seen before
25:09finally made it man
25:15where are we?
25:16just crossed the border of Iraq
25:19about
25:20ten miles ago
25:21destination
25:23forward
25:26as the first bombs fell
25:27an army of over 170,000 coalition troops crossed into Iraq
25:39the American soldiers didn't have much idea what was going on
25:44and they didn't really tell you anything
25:46when you're 19 and you're like a private in the army
25:50they thought
25:51we're gonna run up to Baghdad and like take down Saddam
25:54and they were going home
25:59Dexter Filkins had come to Iraq after reporting on the Afghan war for the New York Times
26:04people have asked me whether
26:07whether
26:08I got addicted to violence and the answer is no
26:10I think what I was addicted to is the kind of largeness of the thing
26:14when you're in a historic situation like that it's like the continental plates are like slipping
26:19it's incredible
26:21it's like breathing pure oxygen
26:28the British led a smaller force to the city of Basra
26:31while Dexter followed the main invasion as it pushed north to Baghdad
26:36soon it will be all over
26:43Iraq will be liberated
26:46and we will be drinking Jack Daniels to celebrate
26:51did you think that Iraq would be victorious?
27:01no
27:02when I used to compare between the American soldier and the Iraqi soldier
27:08there is no way to compare them
27:12what can this soldier do in front of Rambo?
27:27yeah I mean this is the way I saw the Americans I mean they are Rambo
27:33they are Rambo
27:34and he is not
27:36defeatable
27:37he is Rambo
27:39brother could you give me another shot at tequila?
27:43this is the thing we can talk about?
27:45no
27:46yeah maybe
27:47here just give me the bottle I'll just take a swig
27:52there we go
27:55thanks bro
27:57Sergeant Rudy Reyes was one of a small group of elite recon marines
28:02sent ahead of the main invasion to destroy strategic targets
28:06and clear a path for the regular army
28:09well to be a reconnaissance marine first of all they are like the Jedi's of the Marine Corps
28:13of 300,000 marines there is 300 recon marines
28:16we went three weeks straight with no sleep
28:19straight fighting
28:21three weeks
28:22yeah
28:23no armor
28:26no doors
28:27no roofs
28:28just very capable violent professionals
28:36it was as heavy and as personal and as bloody as you can imagine
28:41except we killed them before they could kill us
28:46maybe those bad guys didn't get the word to fucking run
28:51because we were so far ahead
28:5230 kilometers ahead
28:5560 men spearheading the blitzkrieg to get to Baghdad
29:03damn
29:04that's immense
29:06my mission was to destroy any capacity they have for artillery or mortars
29:15and also of course the NBC nuclear biological chemical weapons
29:22still smell the acridness of Iraq and see the dust in the eye covers
29:27it actually makes me feel kind of good because I knew I could fight in this better than anybody else
29:31better than the Iraqis
29:36incoming, outgoing, artillery, small arms, machine guns and birds and the rotary wing
29:42the sound of all the engines
29:44and the radios going non-stop word going back and forth
29:48imagine seeing the freaking cobras crisscrossing above you
29:52and the base of the boom, boom, boom, boom, boom
29:55it was godlike
29:59we're systematically programmed to kill
30:13to kill
30:15so there was no issue for me killing
30:18looking back
30:20I guess that changes you
30:22I don't even think about my wife
30:23I don't think about anything except
30:26be excellent for my team
30:31Our purpose in the next few minutes is to acquaint you with the philosophy behind Marine Corps training
30:36the kind of training which helps keep the Marine Corps ready
30:39do you know in our boot camp
30:46do you know how we say the word yes?
30:50kill!
30:52it's the only thing you can say for yes
30:56kill!
30:58that loud every time
31:00when the drill instructor needs recruits to come do something
31:04give me ten bodies
31:07we speak of people as bodies
31:11and acknowledge an order by screaming kill
31:15then we go into ballistics
31:18then we're watching real world
31:21headshots
31:23footage of sniper kills
31:27and then they're slowing it down in slow motion
31:30head expanding three times the size
31:34then vacuum collapse
31:37then brains and skull
31:39when I saw that
31:42I looked at myself inside
31:45and I said I don't know if I have what it takes to do this
31:48because there was still some human in me
31:53I was looking for the reaction of the Iraqis
32:09and I didn't know what that was going to be
32:12because in Afghanistan it was a no brainer
32:16people were just like euphoric
32:18you know they were like pulling their turbans off
32:20and people were dancing and they were like hugging us
32:24much more complicated in Iraq
32:28much more complicated
32:30it was much more guarded
32:33much more sad
32:35I mean first there was just this kind of overwhelming sense of tragedy
32:39even though they were being told this is your deliverance
32:42I don't think they really believe that
32:44they were terrified
32:46they thought that somehow this was going to come back to them
32:50we're going to get in trouble for this
32:52something bad is going to happen
32:55because that's the way it had always been
32:57so there was this kind of feeling of foreboding as well
33:00they had been through so much already
33:04that people were just in shock
33:08and I felt like
33:11I felt like we had pried the doors off a mental institution
33:16and that's really the first moment when I realized like
33:22oh my god like what are we getting into here
33:24after 13 years of economic sanctions
33:38many Iraqis felt they had been unnecessarily punished by the West
33:42and in southern Iraq
33:44they had extra reason to distrust the Americans
33:46just two hours ago
33:50allied air forces began an attack on military targets in Iraq
33:56after the first Gulf War America encouraged Shia Muslims in the south
34:01to rise up against Saddam
34:03but didn't protect them when he sent helicopter gunships
34:06to end the rebellion
34:07he massacred over 80,000 of his own people
34:16Saddam was able to strengthen his hold on the country
34:20and for some the war with America never ended
34:25I started hearing about America in the 90s
34:31but to be honest not the word America
34:34the first thing I heard about America is the name Bill Clinton
34:41who is Bill Clinton I don't know
34:43I was told that Bill Clinton bombed Iraq
34:50because he hates Iraq
34:52I ordered our armed forces to strike military and strategic targets in Iraq
34:58then the second name was Rumsfeld
35:02with each passing day
35:05Saddam Hussein advances his arsenal of weapons of mass destruction
35:09and then growing up more
35:12I saw Bush
35:15what did you think?
35:17I don't like him
35:19he has the devil in his face
35:21everyone knows that there is a president named Bush
35:28he is a good man
35:29and he is going to destroy the world
35:31until he starts with the Arabs
35:32this is George W Bush
35:38the president of the United States
35:41at this moment
35:43the regime of Saddam Hussein is being removed from power
35:46and a long era of fear and cruelty is ending
35:49the government of Iraq
35:51and the future of your country
35:53will soon belong to you
35:54just three weeks after the start of the invasion
35:59American tanks rolled into the heart of Baghdad
36:05Asahaf, who is the minister of media and information
36:09saying that we are defeating Americans
36:12we have destroyed them here, we have destroyed them here, we have destroyed them here
36:15my feelings as usual
36:18we will slaughter them all
36:20they are not in Baghdad, they are not near us
36:23they have not even entered the city
36:24and literally there was a tank
36:26driving over one of the bridges that connects to where he is
36:33those invaders, their tombs will be here in Iraq
36:37like sure buddy, sure
36:38Sure
37:02Like most Iraqis
37:04Most Iraqis, Sally had only ever seen Americans on state-approved TV.
37:34I was born in the U.S. Army, and I said to them,
37:37''What are you going to do with me?''
37:39''I'm going to put the military in front of you.''
37:44I went to the hospital, and I went to the hospital,
37:47and I went to the hospital.
37:49I didn't know what I did.
37:51So I went to the hospital,
37:53and I came to the hospital,
37:55and I didn't have any fear.
38:04Everybody's been pretty good.
38:05Everybody's helped us out, been friendly.
38:07So it's better than being shot at.
38:10Where are you from?
38:11From Texas.
38:12Is it like Texas being here or a lot different?
38:15A lot different.
38:16I can understand what everybody's saying in Texas.
38:19We never thought that Saddam would be removed. Never.
38:39Until I saw two American soldiers standing in the streets,
38:43I was very happy to see them at that time.
38:45Like, ''Hi, I can speak English.''
38:49So when I saw them, I felt hope.
38:55I had this dream that my country is becoming
38:58one of the good countries in the Middle East,
39:01or maybe in the world.
39:03A country like America.
39:05This was my dream.
39:10Actually, that was lots of people's dream.
39:19There was a genuine sense of hope.
39:21It was like, ''They're here. They're here.''
39:22You know?
39:23And then when we saw the statue,
39:25My uncle looked at us and he was like, ''It's over. It's done.''
39:31It's done.
39:32It's done.
39:33It's done.
39:34It's done.
39:35It's done.
39:36It's done.
39:37It's done.
39:38It's done.
39:39It's done.
39:40It's done.
39:44It's done.
39:45It's done.
39:46It's done.
39:50It's done.
39:51It's done.
39:52It's done.
39:53It's done.
39:54Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!
40:24Oh, oh, oh, oh.
40:37Slowly but surely, the belief started becoming more and more cemented that this is actually
40:43happening right now.
40:46And then, oops, all of a sudden we see Saddam in the streets.
40:53At the same time as the Americans were pulling down his statue, Saddam was rallying the people of Baghdad just a few miles away.
41:02Yugoslav
41:05Yugoslav
41:06Yugoslav
41:06Yugoslav
41:07Yugoslav
41:09Malibash
41:10Yugoslav
41:16Yugoslav
41:17passage of Yugoslav
41:20Besjaord
41:23What guer philosophical
41:27According to the company whoただ digo they didn't know anything
41:32He was the first one on the second page, which was the Iraqi border, after the attack.
41:48This is a character, I am the only one who is the only one.
41:53Yes, he is a member of the government.
41:57This is a look at the image and a look at the image.
42:04It was a mistake.
42:15If someone gets a look at him, what do you do?
42:20You can tell him a lot of people.
42:23Allah! Allah! Allah! Allah! Allah! Allah! Allah! Allah! Allah! Allah!
42:31This is the only way of all Iraqis and the country.
42:37I am a member of any member.
42:42What do you think of Saddam Hussein?
42:45I think of him every day and every day, every day, every day.
42:50Until I get into trouble.
43:00And then he disappeared.
43:02And nobody knew where he was.
43:05Just...
43:09Gone.
43:14But yeah, he just fucking left.
43:20Is Saddam gonna come back?
43:22Because he wasn't captured.
43:26Where was he? Did he have another plan?
43:29We didn't know.
43:37Things were changing so fast.
43:40We couldn't cope.
43:50I remember the day that Baghdad fell.
43:53We all watched it on the news in the hotel and thought we had missed the war.
43:59I mean, what we didn't realize was that the invasion wasn't the war.
44:06The war was to come.
44:11Though there hadn't been much resistance in Baghdad, coalition troops were still fighting in other cities.
44:17Mosul was really, really dangerous.
44:22The situation on the ground was a disaster.
44:27When Ashley Gilbertson arrived in northern Iraq, he was a 26-year-old freelance photographer with virtually no experience of war.
44:35I had no idea what I was doing.
44:41All of these reporters started coming into the north.
44:44They had all of this shit, like the flak jackets with the plates and the helmets and, like, these, these chemical masks with the things that you screw in the bottom.
44:53I didn't have flak jacket. I didn't have a helmet.
44:55We didn't even have a medical kit in the truck.
45:00And then we filled the truck with beer and whiskey and a bit of food and just drove around.
45:05Like, we should have been killed. A thousand times over we should have been killed.
45:08Saddam was still the president of Iraq in Mosul.
45:15And all the mosques were preaching the same prayer of, may God protect Saddam.
45:23And then they start, like, shouting against the Americans.
45:27After a few minutes, a Humvee stopped by the mosque.
45:35And this very same preacher all of a sudden changed his mind and he started shouting against Saddam.
45:44I was shocked. What just happened?
45:48Many people followed him and swapped sides in a moment.
46:05And then there was a chaos.
46:08You would see people running to everywhere, stealing things from buildings, from the schools, from everything.
46:19I was stood by the central bank as everybody looted it.
46:24They're trying to get into the safe in the basement of the bank.
46:27Everyone's, like, banging on this thing with mallets and trying to open it.
46:32Obviously, they're not opening the safe at the central bank.
46:36Until a guy goes down the driveway leading to the safe with an RPG on his shoulder
46:41and fires the fucking RPG at the safe.
46:44And then money starts raining down.
46:45It's total bedlam. It's total chaos.
46:50An American soldier standing by doing nothing.
46:57They are looting everything, destroying everything.
47:02I don't know why. Goodbye.
47:03When you have years and years of poverty, and then all of a sudden the floodgates are open, with no supervision, what would you do?
47:20I mean, I was tempted.
47:26And I remember, you know, it's like seeing American soldiers, you know, it's like waving by, you know, as people literally just looting every single government building, schools, hospitals, you name it.
47:38With the exception of the Ministry of Oil. That was the one ministry that immediately got protection by the American army.
47:48Everything else was free game.
47:51If you go from a repressive regime, we've seen in that transition period there's untidiness.
48:04Freedom's untidy and free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things.
48:10Stuff happens.
48:13You'd hear the stuff coming out of the White House and it was like, what are you talking about?
48:19The whole city, the whole country has been stripped and looted.
48:25There is no government.
48:27There is nothing. There's nothing.
48:28How can you let this happen? How can you tell your soldiers to let this happen and not have a plan for what's going to take place tomorrow?
48:46When all the money, when all the currency is gone, when all the hospitals are looted and burned, what are you going to do?
48:53What are you going to do?
48:58We need protection very, very, very badly.
49:01You know, when you hold a gun and examine a patient, he himself will not like that, the patient.
49:08Examined by a doctor carrying his machine gun.
49:11Starting to see that chaos, I started to question what on earth was going on.
49:16Primarily our big concern right now is trying to get things back to normal here in Baghdad.
49:24They had a lot of problems with locals out here looting.
49:27It's a pretty tough situation because we're not a police force and we can't go through a patrol and acting as policemen guarding everybody.
49:33We wanted to do something, but we were told to stand down.
49:42Then we got the order to go out and help with basic first aid, medical and water.
49:48We take orders and then execute them.
49:54But there are things that happen that I really have a hard time remembering.
50:01We killed some civilians because we put up signs in Arabic.
50:12This is a roadblock, turn around or else we will engage you.
50:19We didn't know they can't read.
50:22So they came pouring through in their vehicles. We killed every one of them.
50:28Grandpa, Mommy and the kids.
50:31I feel sad for them, but that is the profession.
50:48A threat or possible threat you must neutralize.
50:53When you look back at your time in Iraq, do you think it was worth it?
51:06Yes, it's worth it.
51:07I mean, it has to be worth it. What's the, what's the alternative?
51:37At least I can have remorse now.
51:55You know, I've been carrying dead bodies with me forever.
51:58But I'm lucky. Not everybody gets through it as well as I have.
52:14I remember watching the city burn.
52:17And, uh, we did nothing.
52:21Baghdad just ripped to pieces.
52:23And I remember thinking, like, oh my God.
52:28Like, um, never.
52:30Never gonna put this back in.
52:32We're never, we're never gonna get it back in the bottle.
52:34Never.
52:36I remember that feeling very well.
52:42The entire public infrastructure of Iraq was, like, stripped clean.
52:47Gone to zero.
52:48And so, the Americans, like, just dug themselves into this kind of terrible hole.
52:54Terrible.
52:56And they spent the next nine years trying to, like, stand this thing up on its own.
53:01That's what the whole story of the war is.
53:10Immediately after the invasion, one of the only ways to earn money in Baghdad was working as a translator.
53:16We were negotiating the price, and I didn't know what the rate would be.
53:21I was ready to work for a dollar.
53:24And they were like, would, uh, $50 be okay?
53:29And I was like, $50 a what?
53:32You know, and I'm trying to compose myself.
53:34And they were like, a day.
53:35And I was like, $50 fucking bucks.
53:39It's freaking awesome.
53:41Uh, $50 was my dad's salary for six months.
53:46I was making it in a day.
53:49And I was like, alright, we got a deal.
53:53I would hire a cab.
53:55We'd take a journalist with me, and we'd just drive around.
53:58This is the Mutanabe Street.
54:01This is one of the most old streets in Baghdad.
54:07And it's such an odd feeling, because before the war started, shops are open, people are walking, buying, selling, eating, drinking.
54:17And now, it's a ghost town.
54:21There is no police anymore.
54:24No firefighters.
54:26No electricity.
54:28No water.
54:30It's an impossible situation for anyone that was there.
54:34On the one hand, you're hopeful, oh, the future is going to be great, and all of that.
54:38At the same time, you're seeing clear evidence that things are not good.
54:44So, we're looking for stories.
54:49And we heard of this man in Karbala.
54:53He's a Bedouin.
54:54And then we get to a spot where the car cannot drive anymore.
55:01And then I got to see the true face of invasion.
55:05And then I got to see the true face of invasion.
55:09And he's saying that this is his home.
55:12Where is it?
55:13I see my Montenegro.
55:14Oh, my God.
55:15Oh, don't mind.
55:17Oh, my God.
55:19Oh, my God.
55:21And then I got to see the true face of invasion.
55:23And as much as you are,
55:26even if we have a weapon, we will not be able to go on the other side.
55:31The fucking city was on the other side.
55:33He's saying that this is his home.
56:03According to his story, in one afternoon, three Apaches came, hovered, and then they just opened fire on him and his family.
56:24And they just murdered everyone and everything that was alive. Everything.
56:29Him and another brother of his were the only ones that survived.
56:33Honestly, I had my reservations and I was like, this is just very unreal.
56:45Like, this is too much. Too much.
56:48People can't be that bad. They can't be that evil.
56:53And then he starts frantically digging through the sand, showing us the remnants and the remains of what used to be his family.
57:03I mean, that doesn't make any sense.
57:25Here are the children's homes.
57:34This is the roof.
57:36This is the roof.
57:37We were all hopeful at the beginning, but then soon after,
58:07truth started coming up, and the myth that we were sold unraveled itself into this nightmare
58:16that we all knew now we're stuck in.
58:24They had never had that opportunity to vote, and for them it was sheer joy.
58:29This is the core of being a human, having a voice.
58:34Does that sound naive?
58:37I was super impressed with Colonel Sassman.
58:39There are some good things happening.
58:41The thing could work.
58:43America didn't do anything positive for Iraq.
58:50For the first time I would like to make something bad for anyone,
58:55I would like to make it to them.
58:57What are the hosts?
58:58I'm happy to get some solutions.
58:59I leave you there!
59:02Just take a moment to my dreams!
59:04The fighting cross the stage is the most difficult thing to do.
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