The legacy of the war in Iraq

Guests:  CELESTE ZAPPALA, LAURA JACOBY, PAUL RIECKHOFF

Ten years ago today, the U.S. launched its invasion of Iraq without finding weapons of mass destruction but eventually toppling the reign of Saddam Hussein.  Since the war began at least 130,000  Iraqi civilians died and hundreds of thousands were displaced from their homes.    On the other hand, an elected, though fragile, government is in place and the economy is growing with oil exports surpassing pre-war levels, but there are reports that Al-Qaeda in Iraq is gaining strength and that political corruption is rampant.   Over the course of the war roughly 4,500 U.S. troops were killed and over 100,000 were wounded in combat  with many still suffering from serious and devastating emotional and physical wounds.  By some accounts by the time the war ended in December 2011, it cost American taxpayers as much as $3 trillion.  In this hour of Radio Times we’ll discuss the legacy of the Iraq war with three guests — CELESTE ZAPPALA whose son Sherwood was killed in Iraq in 2004,  LAURA JACOBY of the International Rescue Committee who works with displaced Iraqis, and PAUL RIECKHOFF of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus