Iraq

Written and photographed by Canadian freelance photojournalist, Robert J. Galbraith, this is a personal, daily account of the anarchy and horror that unfolded during five weeks of war in Iraq, in April and May 2003. The independent photojournalist, who also covers assignments for the New York Times, takes us away from the bright lights of the modern media giants, describing the misery of the war that many will never see or hear about, from the streets of Baghdad, Basra, Kirkuk, Arbil, Tikrit and Mosul. The author describes, first-hand, the main flaws in the Bush strategy to win the war in Iraq. It describes how a lack of coalition troops led to the looting and civil disorder that plagued the nation. Galbraith witnesses the looting of weapons from military warehouses which were then sold on the lawless streets of Samarra by children, while coalition troops drove by. He interviews families in Saddam City who were offered food, medicine and security to join the uprising against coalition troops. Every day was a battle for survival for the street orphans who formed gangs to survive extortion by rival gangs and rape by perverts released from Saddam's prisons. He compares the relative calm in Basra and Kurdistan with the living hell of Baghdad.