Iraq’s National Elections: Violence Threatens Important Milestone

The Heat

Iraq is holding its first national elections since the United States withdrew its troops in 2011. But the voting comes amid the highest level of violence in recent years in the war-torn nation.
CCTV’s Shreya Sen finds out why this election is so important for the people of Iraq.

To discuss the intricacies of the elections in Iraq, CCTV’s Anand Naidoo interviews Zalmay Khalilzad, the former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Afghanistan, and the United Nations.

The U.S.-led war on Iraq cost billions of dollars, thousands of lives, and has faced heavy criticism. CCTV’s Anand Naidoo is joined by filmmaker Robert Greenwald, who has made documentaries on the war and has been extremely vocal about his opposition to it.

Iraq has been afflicted with escalating levels of violence, corruption allegations, and general unrest. Will these elections offer a beacon of hope for the people of Iraq? Or are things likely to get worse? To discuss these issues, CCTV’s Anand Naidoo sits down with Sarhang Hamasaeed‏, Senior Program Officer for the Middle-East and North Africa Programs at the U.S. Institute of Peace; and Ahmed Ali, Iraq Research Analyst at the Institute for the Study of War.