Once Upon a Time in Iraq

Now, what are your preferences with regards to vaping or not?

Do you... Whatever you want to do, yeah. Yeah?

Whatever makes you feel more relaxed. Thank you.

Removing Saddam Hussein from power was the right decision,

and rescued millions from unspeakable horrors.

This isn't about a lie

or a conspiracy or a deceit or a deception.

It's a decision.

And I do genuinely believe that the world is safer as a result.

The politicians have had their say.

In this series, the story of the Iraq War is told

by the civilians, journalists, and soldiers who lived through

the 2003 invasion, and the years of chaos that continue to this day.

Anybody can invade a country.

Anybody can go to war.

It's what happens if you win.

Through their eyes,

we'll see how events in Iraq have changed the world.

Hi, I'm Lieutenant Colonel Nate Sassaman and the battalion commander

for First Battalion Eighth Infantry Regiment...

We sowed the seeds of Isis in 2003.

We did.

HE EXHALES

The only choice you have is either to be a victim,

or to be the killer.

Are we starting? Yeah, we can start.

I'm interested at where you would begin in a series like this.

Oh, man. Um...

Well, Iraq should not be connected to 9/11

but unfortunately it is, you know?

Go! Go back!

That was the kick-off.

Iraq continues to flaunt its hostility toward America

and to support terror.

States like these and their terrorist allies constitute

an axis of evil.

That's when we knew, "Shit.

"We are getting blamed for this."

There was a sense of relief.

Allied troops have begun moving into position near the Iraqi border...

The war plans are finalised, the training is over,

the combat units are at battle positions...

It seems increasingly likely that military action

against Iraq could be imminent.

At the start of 2003,

over 300,000 coalition troops from mostly America and Britain

had been deployed in preparation for the invasion of Iraq.

And the whole country knew war was coming.

OK, New York, we're starting the show.

Five, four, three, two, one...

Hi, and welcome. I'm Vanessa Ray and today,

we're participating in a historic discussion between the young people

of two countries on the brink of war.

Let's everyone in New York say hi to everyone over in Baghdad.

Hi!

And if you guys could say hi back to us just so we know that you saw us.

Hi! Hi, people of America!

It's...

It's very weird looking at yourself, you know?

As a young man, I think I was 18 years old at that time. Oh, it's...

I mean, am I wrong or did I sound like Borat?!

You know, it's like I don't know...

"Hello, people of America!"

HE LAUGHS

I'm generally interested in computers

and I like internet, I like e-mail and all this stuff.

Let's live a happy life, and let's rock and roll.

You know, I love rock a lot.

Listen for some Metallica, it will help you.

Let's take a little bit more of an in-depth look with this first video

from Waleed who, as we all know by now, is a rocker.

Let's check it out.

ROCK MUSIC

So, I formed this little group.

And we were the only heavy-metal band in Iraq.

Hey, hey, hey!

I was infatuated with the West.

I wanted everything that was Western.

It was like... I wanted the blue jeans,

I wanted the skateboards, I wanted the headphones,

I wanted all of these things that I grew up watching.

And that's how I learned English was from movies and songs.

It's a cool place.

But it's a fake McDonald.

We thought it's real McDonald, and the first moment that we saw it,

"Oh! We have McDonald's here in Iraq!"

But this is not McDonald's.

There are two girls, very beautiful girls here, are sitting there.

You know, I hadn't met that many Americans at that time.

But there are so many things about America

that we appreciated, we like, we want.

So, when I hear, you know, statements like,

"They hate our freedom and our democracy," it's like,

"No, we actually love it!

"We freaking love it! That's all we wanted."

Everybody by Backstreet Boys

Despite 24 years of Saddam's brutal regime,

Baghdad was considered to be one of the most liberal

and cosmopolitan cities in the Middle East.

I want to ask about Backstreet Boys. What do you know about them?

What are their latest?

I got to be honest, I think the Backstreet Boys

have some really, really catchy tunes.

So, I'm definitely down with the Backstreet Boys.

They are sucks, you know?

I always want to be one of the Backstreet Boys,

when I was a teenager. I even know the dances like...

I had the same clothes - the white pants, and the open shirts.

# Backstreet's back, all right! #

And I go to high school with these things.

"Sup, my name is Kevin," not Ahmed.

No!

Ahmed Albasheer is now a famous comedian.

He presents a satirical show that's watched by 19 million Iraqis

and regularly pokes fun at the leaders of Isis.

But as a teenager,

he had to hide his interest in the West from his family.

I have a tape player and I play it, like, at a very low level.

So, sometimes I would put it up to my ear so I can hear the music.

And later on, I bring my tapes in the car when I drive the car.

Candy Shop by 50 Cent

My father was very religious.

I remove the Koran tape.

I put my music in.

# I'll take you to the candy shop... #

I go crazy. The music is very high.

# I'll have you spending all you got

# Keep going until you hit the spot... #

SINGS BEAT TO CANDY SHOP

I was always asking myself why I wasn't born in the Western world.

"I shouldn't be born in this world."

Being a teenager in Iraq is an interesting time.

On the one hand, teenagers are teenagers wherever you are.

But then you have the extra spice of being in Iraq

and Baghdad at that time.

Cos there was darkness in us

that was induced by where we are and what was happening all around us,

that is quite dangerous.

You have to have a song for Saddam in case the Iraqi intelligence

basically are to come and are like, "Who are these guys?

"Why they singing American music?"

# Following our leader Saddam Hussein

# We'll make them fall, we'll drive them all insane

# Following our leader Saddam Hussein

# We'll make them fall, we'll drive them all insane... #

Everything was pro-Saddam.

There is no such thing as not pro-Saddam.

Like, it doesn't exist.

In public? It does not exist.

MUSIC PLAYS

Regime propaganda was everywhere, and a whole generation

of Iraqis had grown up only knowing life under Saddam.

I remember...

..is when I get into the school, I see paintings of Mickey Mouse...

..and the picture of Saddam Hussein.

I saw his picture everywhere.

CHILDREN SING

Whatever his name is mentioned, you not just mentioned his name.

You have to say, "May God protect him, may God save him,

"may Allah give him more life.

"May God take our lives and give it to him

"because without him we can't survive."

And being a child, I thought he is immortal.

We are humans but he is something different.

APPLAUSE

At some point, I thought he's my grandfather.

Because I see him everywhere and it was like,

"Yeah, this is my grandfather, he's cute, he's good," blah, blah, blah.

"He's brave." This is what they teach us in the schools.

And then when I was, like, 12 or maybe 11-12,

I realised that no, he's the president of the country

and I have to never say anything bad about him because I will be killed.

And there's this guy who's like...

SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE

..which means, "Shit on Saddam."

Every time he says it, it's like, "Oh, my God, just shut the fuck up!"

Like, "Sh, sh, zip it!"

And he's like, "So, it's OK to say, 'Fuck God?'"

And I was like, "Yes."

But "Fuck Saddam?" And I was like, "No!"

HE LAUGHS

Cos you don't know who's listening.

And that's what he created.

The idea that your next-door neighbour, your brother,

your cousin - anyone - could be the one that reports you.

MEN SCREAM

How many of you feel hopeful that things could resolve themselves?

I don't think anybody is hopeful cos President Bush went up

and said, "I will bomb Iraq." Do you think we have any hope?

We don't want any more wars, OK?

The infamous deck of cards, the 55.

Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash.

She was part of the government - one of the only females

in Saddam's cabinet, you know, this very high-ranking individual,

was sitting as you are sitting, looking right at us.

And she was like, "And know that Iraq depends on you

"to transfer a good image about what we truly are all about."

I think that Saddam Hussein has had 12 years since the Persian Gulf War

to get rid of his weapons of mass destruction.

And he should be ousted for the sake of the Iraqi people