“There is a lot of hope. Every time I go there and meet with the new generation, I think that they definitely want for their country to be a successful one. And that’s the conversation in Iraq. Most people have now forgotten about the war.”
On May 5th, Faisal Saeed Al Mutar, who grew up in Iraq during the United States-led invasion in 2003, joined Merion West editor-in-chief emeritus Erich Prince to discuss his reflections on the conflict 20 years after the Fall of Baghdad in April of 2003. Since coming to the United States in 2013, Mr. Al Mutar has been involved with counteracting censorship in the Middle East. In 2017, he co-founded the nonprofit organization Ideas Beyond Borders in collaboration with journalist Melissa Chen, and the organization aims to broadcast news and information into countries where significant government censorship exists. During their conversation, Mr. Al Mutar and Mr. Prince discuss the current state of Iraq and how it has fared over the past two decades, Mr. Al Mutar’s view that American intervention in Iraq has been a net positive, and his thoughts on which trends in the region the American public should most be watching.
This interview appears in video form:
