Baghdad 5 Years On: City of Walls

Posted by ZP Heller, Brave New Films at 8:22 AM on August 7, 2008.

This video drops a major asterisk on the so-called "success" of the surge in Iraq touted by John McCain, George Bush, and many other conservatives.  If violence has declined, it is largely because the U.S. military has carved up cities like Baghdad with miles of 12-foot tall concrete walls.  So while there may be stability at the moment, these barriers have separated Sunnis and Shias without improving their living conditions, isolating them in a desperate situation.  Which leads me to ask how long such stability can possibly last?

Part 2 of this report that looks at a makeshift cemetery and victims of militia violence.

And part 3 focuses on the lost generation of Iraqi children who have been affected by this war.

Tagged as: children, shia, iraq war, sadr city, united states, sunnis, baghdad, militias, ghaith abdul-ah

ZP Heller is the editorial director of Brave New Films. He has written for The American Prospect, AlterNet, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and The Huffington Post, covering everything from politics to pop culture.