Ghaith Abdul-Ahad: Iraq Through Iraqis' Eyes

CSIS Babel

Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman and Natasha Hall

Published September 6, 2023

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with award-winning Iraqi journalist Ghaith Abdul-Ahad. During the conversation, Abdul-Ahad discusses the fallout from the war and U.S. occupation, his career reporting from Iraq, and the ways that working alongside leading journalists influenced his work. Then, Jon continues the conversation with Natasha Hall and Leah Hickert, discussing the legacies of sectarianism in Iraq and Lebanon.

Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, A Stranger in Your Own City: Travels in the Middle East's Long War, Penguin Random House, 2023.
Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, "Guns, cash, and frozen chicken: the militia boss doling out aid in Baghdad," The Guardian, March 20, 2023.
Transcript, "Ghaith Abdul-Ahad: Iraq Through Iraqis' Eyes," CSIS, August 22, 2023.
Photo credit: Rena Effendi.

Jon B. Alterman

Jon B. Alterman

Senior Vice President, Zbigniew Brzezinski Chair in Global Security and Geostrategy, and Director, Middle East Program

Natasha Hall

Natasha Hall

Senior Fellow, Middle East Program