Michael Otterman: Erasing Iraq

May 1st 2010 marks the seven-year anniversary of George W Bush's proclamation of the end of hostilities in Iraq and the infamous 'Mission Accomplished' message.

Mike Otterman’s book, Erasing Iraq, outlines those ‘accomplishments’ at over one million Iraqi dead, five million refugees, and utter decimation of an entire culture and way of life that will reverberate for generations. He shows in unparalleled detail the devastating human cost of the past two decades of American intervention in Iraq, and argues that western governments and the mainstream media continue to ignore or play down the human costs of the war on Iraqi citizens. In-depth interviews with Iraqi refugees in Syria, Jordan and Western countries provide a comprehensive and moving account of the Iraqi people's tragedy rarely heard.

He discusses the tragedy of Iraq with chair Sean Plunket.

Presented as a part of the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival.