I’m going to share a few snapshots and moments along the way during my visit to Iraq, to provide some color.
I’m reporting for a forthcoming book that asks: What happened in Iraq after America invaded in 2003, and what broke around the world as a result of that war. #Iraq
The last few days I visited Najaf and Karbala. Here some pilgrims rest in the plaza outside the Shrine of Imam Ali in Najaf at midday, with the temperature at 117 degrees Fahrenheit. #Iraq#Najaf
A family takes a deceased relative to the shrine of Imam Ali before burial in the Najaf cemetery. #Iraq#Najaf
Perfume and jewelry for sale by the Imam Ali entrance. #Iraq#Najaf
No guns allowed in the alleyways near the shrine. #Iraq#Najaf
Sunset over the Euphrates in the village of Abbasiya, outside Najaf. #Iraq#Najaf
Light lunch in Najaf, while at the nearby Grenada Hotel, stuffed animals guide the way to the cafe. #Iraq#Najaf
Finally, some thoughts about the viability of the Iraqi state from a few people I interviewed today in a dispatch for @WPReview#Iraq#Najaf#Karbala
View of what was once the bustling built-up riverbank of the Old City, now completely destroyed, from the East Bank of #Mosul, #Iraq.
In and around Mosul I spoke to many people about the aftermath of the ISIS period. Most were rebuilding their lives, a very few pined for the Caliphate.
Raha and Bashar stayed in the Old City during ISIS rule and survived the seige and liberation. They returned as soon as they were allowed and hope their community comes back.
Here are screenshots of what Raha and Bashar told me, from my @WPReview story.
It's hard to fathom the scale of the destruction the Old City. Entire blocks of homes and shops destroyed, a haunting and standard feature of urban battles in this century.
Is this a tragic, unavoidable feature of urban warfare, or an act of collective punishment?
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President Biden won't announce these simple moves in the State of the Union tonight.
But if he changes his mind, Biden has authority to do the right thing: stop the war in Gaza, send aid, and end US complicity with war crimes.
1/6
Stop the war: President Biden can order his ambassador to the United Nations to support a ceasefire resolution at the Security Council.
Once the US stops wielding its veto, the Security Council could approve a text within a day.
2/
Send aid: The US military has the logistical capacity to surge meaningful aid to Gaza's border within days: thousands of truckloads of food and medicine, pre-inspected by the US, escorted by US troops.
Israel won't dare use force to try to stop US aid to Gaza.
3/
Rushing deeper into an entirely avoidable regional Middle East war. US already is fighting on multiple fronts.
On Sunday, resistance axis militants killed 3 Americans.
There's only one wise response to the crossing of this US red line: pull back.
1/16
TL;DR
America deescalates immediately (in Yemen, Iraq, region-wide); presses Israel to stop Gaza war now; endorses full regional climbdown.
Otherwise, Joe Biden will have ended one war in Afghanistan only to start a bigger one that stretches from Iran to the Suez Canal.
2/16
This entire disaster was predictable, and in fact, many of us predicted it. In October, my colleague @abujamajem and I warned that Israel’s war in Gaza was very likely to spiral into a wider war involving the US.
1/THREAD ON IRAN & US: We’re now in a security crisis entirely the result of unforced errors by the United States. Trump refused to have a strategy, and chose to destabilize the region with maximum confrontation.
2/Along the way, the Trump administration has squandered huge reservoirs of credibility.
3/A manageable relationship with Iran under the JCPOA is now a potential war because of maximum pressure policy (which has accomplished none of its stated aims).