Citizen Writers Fighting Censorship by Helping Americans Understand Issues Affecting the Republic.
For many Americans, the story is simple. Saddam Hussein gassed the Kurds in the 1980s—most infamously at Halabja. They suffered horribly. When the United States eventually removed Saddam from power in 2003, the Kurds were portrayed as natural allies: brave fighters, pro-Western, reliable partners in a messy region.
Every time the United States gets involved in a foreign conflict, the opening act is usually impressive. Precision strikes, shock-and-awe, special operations raids, satellites, drones, cyber, carrier groups—the whole high-tech orchestra. When it comes to breaking things, the U.S. military is the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. Regimes fall, palaces empty, statues get pulled down, and cable news runs dramatic graphics about “the end of an era.”
While generals got the glory, drones got the headlines, and politicians got the soundbites, one quiet giant stood tall (literally) throughout the Iraq and Afghanistan wars: the T-wall.
In 2003, the world witnessed one of the most controversial military interventions in modern history: the United States’ invasion of Iraq.