“I have seen my beautiful country destroyed, first by Saddam Hussein and now by these people … Why does this always happen to Iraq?” is the question the manager of the Sheraton Hotel in Baghdad has for journalist Jon Lee Anderson just days after the U.S. military invades the city.
He’s just one of the Iraqi people Anderson writes about as he covers the war for The New Yorker magazine. It’s an assignment that allows him to tell the story that reporters seldom tell — the story of the Iraqi people themselves, their suffering, their sophistication, their confusion, and complexity.
Hear a conversation with writer Jon Lee Anderson about the fall of Baghdad and the future of its people.
Guests:
Jon Lee Anderson, staff writer for The New Yorker. His new book is “The Fall of Baghdad.”