Vlad Jecan

Patrick Cockburn is a journalist and a veteran war correspondent. He began his carrier as a Middle East correspondent for the Financial Times and the Independent in 1979 and he concentrated on Iraq ever since.

In 2003, just weeks before the US invasion of Iraq, Cockburn made his way to the country. Thanks to a book published in 1999 which was co-authored with his brother Andrew, he did not receive a visa to enter Iraq. The book, Out of the Ashes: The Resurrection of Saddam Hussein, was not seen well by the Saddam regime. Cockburn writes in The Occupation, that the book did well in the black market, as some Iraqis photocopied the book, multiplied it and then they went on and sold the book. In consequence, Patrick Cockburn had to pass through Syria and into Northern Iraq controlled by the Kurds. Then he crossed the Tigris River by boat and made his way to Baghdad.

For the next three years, Cockburn would report on Iraq for The Independent and after the invasion he started to write for the London Review of Books. He was present when the Saddam regime fell and reported on the anarchy and looting that occurred throughout the country after the invasion. Cockburn writes that American soldiers did not intervene in order to stop the looting and try to install order in the streets of Baghdad. Throughout The Occupation, Cockburn criticizes the steps taken by the Americans to pacify regions of Iraq and eventually the entire country.

Patrick Cockburn’s The Occupation: War and Resistance in Iraq, starts with a brief history of the country in order to emphasize the struggle of the Iraqis until the fall of Saddam Hussein. Cockburn writes on the differences between the Shia and the Sunni as well as their similarities. The author writes on the local tribal politics, a tribe might have both Shia and Sunni members; he informs the reader on the political motivations of the Kurds in Northern Iraq and criticizes the United States for not trying to understand these aspects of Iraq which led to dramatic consequences.

The author shows the rise of subnationalism in Iraq which peaked with the 2005 elections that almost brought the country into civil war. The Sunnis tried to boycott the elections with catastrophic results, the Kurds voted for their representatives, the Shia for the Shia. The results were dramatic. Patrick Cockburn was to stay during this uprising that almost turned into a full civil war and reported on the events. He frequently quotes the opinion of his Iraqi friends or of whom were directly involved, often using anecdotes to portray the events in question.  The book is a fine example of brilliant journalism.

In The Occupation: War and Resistance in Iraq, Patrick Cockburn is very critical of the ways the US occupation of Iraq evolved during 2003 and 2006. The author also displays a very pessimistic outlook at the future of the country. In his view, the invasion will have dire consequences for the United States.

The Occupation is a must read for anybody who wants to go behind the headlines and the optimism displayed by the US and British media and explore the reality of Iraq as described by Patrick Cockburn.