In the firing line

Civilians and soldiers reveal the true cost of the 2003 invasion of Iraq

- HANNAH DAVIES, IAN MACEWAN

NEW HISTORY

Once Upon a Time in Iraq

Monday, BBC2 HD, 9pm

Waleed Neysif grew up in Iraq under Saddam Hussein’s brutal regime, dreaming of the America of blue jeans, skateboards and McDonald’s that he’d seen in the movies. Then, in 2003, when Neysif was 18, American troops invaded Iraq and the tanks rolled into Baghdad.

‘I was infatuated with the West,’ admits Neysif. ‘When we started to hear the murmurs we were about to be invaded, I was excited. I thought we were about to become a land of dreams.

‘I was pro-war. There was a genuine sense of hope, and then when we saw the statue of Saddam Hussein fall, the belief became more and more cemented that this was actually happening.’