A
terrific interview with Michael was posted today on
the website of Asharq Alawsat newspaper.
The interview was conducted while he was in Paris
last month.
Q
& A with CNN's Michael Ware
14/11/2007
By Enaam Kajjah Ji in Paris
Q: How did the idea of going to Iraq emerge?
A: I went to Kurdistan at the beginning of 2003
before the military attack [on Iraq]. I got to
Baghdad after the fall of Tikrit in April 2003. I’ve
been there for four and a half years.
Q: Do you stay, like your fellow correspondents, in
Palestine Hotel?
A: No, I only stayed there for a short while in 2004,
but I stayed in other places. I wasn’t a
correspondent for CNN at that time.
Q: What were your first impressions of Baghdad?
A: I noticed a big difference between Baghdad and the
cities in Kurdistan. I still remember my first tour
by car in Baghdad, with a friend, and my fascination
with it, the city lights, the life, its population
density and its river. The river was so beautiful
with restaurants alongside its two banks. Of course,
at that time, the situation was relatively calmer.
Markets and restaurants were crowded with customers,
diners and families that were not afraid to go out at
night. Unfortunately, life in Baghdad is no longer
like this.
Q: Who were you working for back then?
A: When I was working in the North, I was a
freelancer. I corresponded with the press and sent my
articles to Time Magazine but I did not film the
invasion. I worked on the front lines. There were two
fronts, one where Americans and Peshmergah forces
fought against Ansar al Islam near Halabja, and a
second front against [deposed Iraqi president] Saddam
Hussein’s army. In those days, I used to wake up and
decide which front to go to. Even before the
Americans began the attacks, there were daily battles
in the north, some big and some small. Some of them
were against the Iraqi army but almost every day,
they were against Ansar al Islam. This is why I was
very busy during the months that preceded the
[American] attack. When the attack began, the first
strikes were against Ansar al Islam and the Americans
used Tomahawk missiles on sites and camps. When this
stage was over, Americans and Peshmergah fighters
headed towards Kirkuk and Mosul and of course towards
Tikrit. I followed them until we reached Baghdad. I
have many fond memories of the time I spent in
beautiful Kurdistan. I still have friends there, but
my years in Baghdad separated me from them and sent
to me to another field to deal with local
politicians.
Q: At that time, were you optimistic about what would
happen in Iraq?
A: The truth is that I became acquainted with Iraq
for the first time through Kurdistan. I will never
forget the day when the regime fell in Baghdad and
the scenes of Saddam’s statue falling in Paradise
Square. I was there in Sulaymaniyah and I saw how the
Kurds took to the streets; the celebrations were
exceptional and the joy was overwhelming. Whoever saw
such a scene could only feel hopeful or feel that
good days had finally come. Since I only knew a
little bit about Iraq, having never visited it or
worked there before and since it was my first
experience there, I felt that there was hope on the
horizon. At that time I did not know that what
followed would be worse.
Q: Was your outlook towards the Iraqi situation a
neutral one?
A: I had no choice but to be neutral. Our profession
forces us to deal with everyone, good and bad. This
is not our personal choice, but rather it is imposed
upon us by the historic responsibility entrusted to
us. We only have to witness what is happening in
front of us and to document it through reporting,
audio recordings and photography. However, making
judgments is not our job. We must be careful not to
include any bias in the news that we transmit.
Q: Was it easy for you to work in Baghdad?
A: Initially, yes. A journalist was able to work
quite easily. At that time, I used to write about the
looting and I think that the American army did not
exercise any control with regards to these crimes. At
that time, one was able to wander around Baghdad. We
were free to travel between cities, to go to Mosul
for example without difficulty. I went for a meal in
Fallujah and I tasted its famous kebabs but I don’t
think that the restaurant [I visited] is still there
today. Even driving at night was safe. I remember
that I used to drive my car in Tikrit at 11pm and I
would talk to people in the street without any
problem. I can say that what saw in 2003 was a
completely different country and way of life compared
to the current status quo.
Q: Do you fear for your safety?
A: It was, and still is, a war. Everyone is at risk.
Even an Iraqi family at home is not safe. A bomb
could land on the house or in the neighbourhood at
any moment. A car bomb could explode in a
market…everyone in Iraq is in danger, whether he is a
journalist or not, whether he is an Iraqi or a
visitor to the country. The situation was not that
grave at the beginning however, unfortunately, it is
now deteriorating. Regrettably, I say that this is
life in Iraq today.
Q: Did you read articles by your predecessors who had
covered previous wars in Iraq for CNN, such as Peter
Arnett and Robert Wiener?
A: No, because my experience has not been in this
part of the world. In the past, I covered the South
Pacific and South-East Asia. I only got to the Middle
East after the 9/11 attacks. I visited Pakistan and
lived in Afghanistan for one year. When Time Magazine
asked me to go to Iraq, I tried to acquaint myself
with the situation there. In the past year, I worked
in Lebanon when CNN asked me to cover the war there.
Q: What are differences between covering the wars in
Afghanistan and Iraq?
A: The two cannot be compared and I love Iraq for
several reasons. I am sad to say that there was life
and vitality in Iraq that I did not find during my
previous experience. I was coming from Afghanistan,
where people follow the old way of life and life is
very difficult, roads are damaged, electricity is cut
off and people live in villages in mountains in the
absence of education and a middle class. Movement was
difficult and everything required a lot of time to be
done. When I arrived in Iraq and discovered that the
country was rich in education, ideas, debate and
infrastructure, I noticed surprising disparities. In
Iraq, for example, I wanted to go from one city to
another and I looked at the map and I calculated the
time needed to reach my destination based on my
experience in Afghanistan. I estimated that the trip
would take two days but it took only two hours. There
are many small observations that I noted in my diary
being an “Abu Naji*” who arrived in Iraq for the
first time.
*Abu Naji was the name given by Iraqis to British
forces of World War II who went to Iraq
Q: But you are Australian and not Abu Naji?
A: Every westerner is Abu Naji. Initially, we were
all Abu Naji. It is better than being called Ali
Baba. Whenever I visited a looted school, for
example, and asked the children about what happened,
they simply answered, “Ali Baba was here”.
Q: It is often reported that Western correspondents
in Baghdad stay in fortified headquarters and send
local reporters and photographers on difficult
assignments and wait for them to come back with the
news. What is your comment regarding this?
A: In the beginning, such an act was not customary.
Foreigners had freedom of movement amongst factions.
You can never replace your eyes with someone else’s.
When the level of danger and “Moqawama” (resistance)
increased, militias and Al Qaeda started targeting
foreigners. Thus, foreigners gradually became
isolated in places that were guarded and they began
to depend on Iraqi journalists for fieldwork. This
has allowed them to emerge and develop their skills
on the front line in danger. I had lost many Iraqi
friends working in journalism. It is a tragic reality
that emerged with the difficult conditions existing
in the country. As for me, I still have my means of
transportation because I have been living in Iraq for
several years and I know many people from different
parties. If such conditions hamper the work of
television cameramen primarily, then I have to say
that all my friends who correspond with newspapers
and magazines are no longer able to walk in the
streets of Baghdad.
Q: Do you live in the Green Zone?
A: No, none of us live there. I know of only two
media organizations that are located in the Green
Zone. Any other media figure lives in what the US
army calls “the Red Zone” i.e. Iraq. Why would I live
in the Green Zone? There, you are isolated from real
news stories and the Iraqi people.
Q: Have you been able to gain access to Iraqi homes
and talk to intellectuals or women for example?
A: Anywhere I go in the city allows me to meet with
those kinds of people, either in cafes or
restaurants. At any place, you will find exceptional
writers, poets, musicians and painters. I used to go
to exhibitions and purchase paintings of Iraqi art
and hang them in my house. Iraq is blessed and
protected with this cultural richness which is one of
the most important things that has been destroyed by
the war. As you know, anyone who has the ability and
opportunity to leave Iraq has already done so.
Q: Have you learnt any Arabic?
A: A little bit...
Q: What of the Iraqi dialect have you learnt?
A: “Schloonak” [meaning how are you]. When I
travelled in the region from the Gulf to Lebanon and
saluted people using this word, they immediately
asked me, “Are you Iraqi?”
Q: Do you intend to continue working in Iraq?
A: Each one of us has paid a price in this war. I am
staying because there is no other place to go. I
think that I will wake up one morning and say to
myself “that’s enough”.
Q: How would you describe this war?
A: It is a catastrophe that will last for
generations.
Originally posted on the website of
Asharq Alawsat Newspaper (English
edition)
All rights reserved