Inside Iraq’s first year

Inside Iraq first aired a year ago with the launch of Al Jazeera English. What has this past year meant for Iraq and its people? In this anniversary special, we look at the critical turning points in the country since November 2006 and discuss the issues that will be likely to shape Iraq’s political future. 

Despite the US troop ‘surge’ early in January 2007, this year has been the bloodiest in terms of US troop casualties since the invasion in 2003. So, has the surge made any difference to the volatile security situation in Iraq?

This year has been the bloodiest in terms of US troop casualties [EPA]

While the Americans boosted troop levels, some of their allies scaled back their presence in Iraq.  British troops pulled out of Basra city altogether. How committed is the coalition troop presence and are we likely to see more withdrawals?

The year saw the rise and decline of al-Qaeda, for almost a year responsible for countless innocent Iraqi deaths and a source of tremendous sectarian friction between Sunnis and Shia. So, have we seen the end of its existence in Iraq or has it merely suffered a temporary setback?

Iraqi political leaders are struggling with their national reconciliation efforts. The Sunni-Shia rivalry is still at the heart of the problem. Does Iran have a hand in the current political gridlock? 

Our guests this week are:
General Richard Meyers, the former US chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Buthaina Shaaban, the Syrian minister of expatriates affairs, and Methal Al-Alosi, an Iraqi member of parliament and the leader of the al-Ummah al-Iraqiah party.

Watch this episode of Inside Iraq here:

Part 1:

Part 2:

This episode of Inside Iraq aired from November 16, 2007

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