it little. april twenty twelve and i'm back in iraq encircled on the border with turkey.

i have an appointment this morning with a lebanese taxi. family the united states said they would make a democracy out of iraq in the heart of the arab world. but the iraq i see today is a country on the brink of chaos torn between three groups kurds sunnis and shias. it is a country divided a stranger to peace that i'm about to cross a taxi ride to the heart of iraqi history. from the hole in the north travelled down through a all below. tikrit. baghdad babylon. and i'll file a road map of the iraqis. tragedy. so obviously i'm delighted the americans have

finally left iraq as much as we iraqis are very happy not to see it or hear anymore enough was enough the americans occupied us so we hate them like they lean here in iraq they killed in creating the conditions for chaos they are responsible for the whole tragedy of them and of course we were living in peace and they came to destroy our country and us over but all of us are but. my journey begins on the mountains of iraqi kurdistan. an army of two hundred thousand soldiers called peshmerga watch over this rather particular region of the country. of. origin. was. my first stop is an l.b.o. the capital of iraqi kurdistan is the only region of iraq today that is seeing

peace and an economic boom the miracle of being made possible by the discovery of oil on kurdish territory. for a long time dominated by baghdad and saddam hussein kurdistan dreams of achieving autonomy. the first customer the first passenger on our trip is a member of the new kurdish parliament. but just you know it in iraq we can say that oil has always been a curse. but today in kurdistan that's changing there's no foreign oil companies are coming here to work with. the revenues are finally being used for reconstruction and what not but it's a huge difference for us as in saddam's times we never benefited from the oil money at all. would he have any of this that i don't know that yet he got that out of me

when. it's quite simple we could spend four where iraqis i mean. i think they're very rapidly as soon as we have been able to create a stable basis for building a country ninety nine percent of people will vote for independence with. no one to one or the people who want their own country a country called could stand looking at it as that they want their own passport but there's no kurdish one i spoke to could stand. a land of shepherds kurdistan is discovering well through its oil a nightmare for baghdad which had long controlled with the resources and richards. without drive a holiday we had east towards the mountains along the border with a round. driving through abandoned villages i feel like i'm visiting some

a trace. passenger ahmed is a survivor today he's on a pilgrimage paying tribute to the dead. so as i don't know so i started nine hundred eighty eight during the al and the follow a military campaign waged by saddam against the kurds my village was completely destroyed. and that some of the inhabitants were deported to southern iraq and locked up in the terrible new grice oman prison camp. many women children and men monastic and thrown into mass graves. the kurds have always dreamed of independence saddam hussein decided to eliminate

the problem once and for all. his cousin to go down in history as chemical ali was in charge of the repression. on march sixteenth one thousand nine hundred eight his helicopters dropped bombs loaded with toxic gas over kurdish villages. one hundred thousand civilians were killed and three thousand villages were raised the kurds rebellion was crossed. here in the villages the peshmerga who didn't built up supply. anyone opposed to saddam could seek refuge here. so the regime began by attacking the villages for saddam burning gassing and destroying the villages meant controlling kurdistan. lunches like a homage to the victims on the menu adama stuffed vegetables prepared by

a mad wife. a sunny like saddam hussein my driver. he didn't know or didn't want to know the terrible truth. look i'll show you the house where i was born yeah here on this hill where we're sitting is like a memorial to the village as it was before the tragedy it was here that the villagers came together every evening to talk to play backgammon and listen to the radio. i leave a comment to mourn and commemorate his loved ones. we continue towards the east and kirkuk the former capital of kurdistan today on iraqi territory. so what if that god be praised i'm not scared when the region was under american control i was afraid about it but as soon as the iraqi police and army took over things got much better if the americans didn't know the region they were afraid and trigger happy that they didn't hesitate to fire at anyone who approached them but

you know as a passenger foreigner anyone with. this road has seen a lot of drama how many times did the american shoot down iraqis here for no reason gotta go. through the windscreen the first iraqi checkpoint appears it's time to lower the camera and film or discreetly. that. the soldiers here are regularly targeted by armed groups and are also quick to shoot a journal about the attacks and kidnappings are frequent in the area. at the moment checking our identity an itinerary takes too long hours. but at last we can hit the road again a road that is more than dangerous. to be honest no one took this road before al qaeda or basically all the terrorists control the region and everyone is afraid of

venturing out on this road today we feel a bit safer at getting that out of our budget. the constant road blocks me now two hundred kilometer journey takes eight hours. night has fallen when i reach her coke and the sky is lit up by flast tanks the city floats on a vast sea of oil. for centuries pilgrims came here to gather around the eternal flames. the kurds would dearly love to reclaim the city the former capital of baghdad. he is unwilling to lose such a profitable treasure. one term to a majority of kids today is a mix of turkmen arabs kurds and christians a veritable ethnic palate a cake. so

i went to. this morning's planters around occurred but they're not going to kurdistan's independence he would pay with his own blood. so i would. kind of cook. has to become part of kurdistan and that it's vital we are bonded by blood to go to them but them they can kill us and shoot at us but he won't change anything we are linked to kurdistan let's have a city i mean we cannot live outside of kurdistan it would be like dying. my brother we invite you to a restaurant. i cannot let you go without inviting me i am a kurd and hospitality is a custom with us. you can continue your journey after the mail and i swear before god when i come to the restaurant with me you are welcome when you get away of course. for khaled it's time to pray.

for us to eat. as we enter the village a few peace men appear as an escort. i would say to watch as they say to protect us . and so i pay for everyone's meal as a kind of friendly tax. was. it said that kirkuk could be one of the world's richest cities it is certainly one of the most dangerous. discreet an ordinary heroin. saima who is a kurd investor are opposed and fortune in the opening of a private school a generous act which has attracted m.p.'s attention. i'm terrified so little if i do the day after not that was broadcast to promote the school but to physio and so i got a telephone call and i'm with you old enough to join he said oh yes first hobby

hello how about any hello you are you know a nothing of hobbies that is a bonnet. a man introduced himself as a member of a terrorist organisation and demanded money for them one of my colleagues were terrorized through. other like so school for a month and then i said we have to open it again we can't just give in. michael but we have to we're still life has to go on. that. neither the terrorists nor anyone else can stop me from working as a mystical only god is the master of my destiny. admission free accreditation free in-store charges free. range month free. free. to try free. download free

broadcast quality video for your media projects and free media and on to our t.v. dot com. we are facing a lot of problems. because no one. no good schools. what's not enough wealth is a law in the local needs you might want to community l.n.g. most will be used. to give to dunford just i was fired i must fight so. i'll fight for. the right.

when we reach must to the second biggest city in iraq it has been locked down by the army. the previous night two bombs went off in the suit. i have to negotiate with the military chiefs for three hours before they let me in. across what appears to be a dead city and yet today mosul is in party mode. my name is ahmed and about i'm a law student today is

a festival the university day that's why we can see all the troops they're here to protect us. the situation is very difficult the country is undergoing a wave of anonymous attacks and assassination my dream is quite simple i just want to live in an iraq that's safe and pete it's a magnificent country mustn't forget that it was once respectfully known as mesopotamia the land between two rivers i dream of peace. but peace seems impossible. the americans have gone but now kurds shias and sunnis battle for control of the city even the mosques are under military protection the internet in killing goes on in the name of allah. a leave muscle with no regrets. this road fraught with danger can also hold certain surprises and. stops to help a friend even in iraq one can run out of petrol. it's hilarious we have the world's

second biggest oil reserves and we're short of petrol and gas. were reduced to filling up on the black market at exorbitant prices. common sense would suggest that petrol was available in quantity and free perhaps not free but not too expensive anyway. but john. as soon as we arrive on the outskirts of tikrit saddam hussein's former stronghold where arrested by the police i have the feeling we were expected. after a few hours of questioning were put under house arrest in a hotel and forbidden from going out. and the situation eases the following afternoon when we're granted two hours of

freedom but we're still under close surveillance. the next man who joins us in the taxi is in mourning his name's fi deal he's a journalist and he lost his best friends just two days ago. but god will save iraq . sorry. your droid they want to make iraq a wretched country than us be. but that would be assassinate the best among us the terrorist who kills a journalist like my colleague at the news channel who kills a religious man behind an academic or teacher certainly doesn't do it for religious reasons it's obvious he does it mostly for money because our religion does not tolerate all these crimes the only motive for these crimes is money and they're ordered from outside to kill our best people any of us.

in the city center the mosque still bears the name of the man who built it was saddam hussein i'm. come to pay a final homage to his murdered friend i knew all on april second two thousand and twelve. a holiday. and a journalist for a local t.v. station was killed instantly when his car exploded. down. a relaxing evening along the banks of the tigris overseen by the palace of the local hero sadam. saddam was always surrounded by members of his own tribe and many here miss the man who built a sunni state much to their advantage. they came in just for the americans didn't come here to look for weapons of mass destruction nor to hunt down saddam hussein they came to rob us and to kill us ation iraq it was

a unified country but at the most but when they arrived the americans that triggered divisions by creating ethnic conflicts just you know this very well. they destroyed everything and then they left but they don't know but in reality they're still here they make people think they've gone but they're still present their aim is to create discord in iraq with all my life and that is all but. as we leave tikrit we come to a village the heart of saddam hussein's kingdom where he was finally caught. on december fourteenth two thousand and three saddam was captured at dawn in his hideout in a farmyard a miserable rattle two meters underground. disheveled

and distraught he surrendered to the american forces. in his possession were two kalashnikovs and seven hundred fifty thousand dollars. other goes taxi is a gas guzzler and we need more petrol. but it was here. we seek out the black market power business which fills the coffers of a few politicians civil servants and terrorist groups to. the oil money benefits everyone apart from the iraqi people. now full tilt of. the temperature hits more than forty degrees and the machines are cool down with a hose. for the men it's time to wash and pray before sitting down for a meal. that

surprised by my presence but soon opened up. for the sunny customers the whole affair was an american manipulation. mover the greek word plays a key role in the arab world and. the americans used the country to trap saddam of like them fearing i mean how did before they set the date up and he took it it was a prearranged ambush. it's time to leave and head for lucia khaled doesn't like stopping for too long. kidnappings are frequent here and for the criminal gangs everyone has a price probably including me. the killing in the

kidnappings may be motivated by political or religious convictions but increasingly simply for profit. i've lost count of the checkpoints along the way but the controls this morning seem interminable. i don't know who this fee for victory sign is aimed at as we finally enter the ravaged city of fallujah. joe was the scene of one of the most violent american offensives of. g.i. summerlee killed youngsters and whole families here any time last korea always a collision. but they blew up cars and caused a lot of fatalities. is the

most ravaged city in iraq of them annoy you. know yes that's the american cancer but. it is unbearable and the motor is overheating the local grocer helpless to cool it. he's a man driven by anger he experienced the battle of fallujah at first hand and how do you watch i don't know how they are you call a democracy now it's quite simply about killing and stealing our well off our lands with burnt from the effects of the white phosphorous bombs and now our children are gone disfigured one of the gullible heads that are not what they are so beloved all the god living with us go and see the hospitals and you'll see mothers throwing away their babies deformed by all the chemical weapons that's how i'm the only one that i could do if there's justice in the world bush will have to answer for his war crimes and crimes against humanity he claimed iraq had weapons of mass destruction but where were they these weapons. before let me although i do know

that this was a killer using white phosphorous bomb while the mamma said not even the mosque was safe from his barbarity look at the ruined minarik. that's bush's democracy and the job holier of them about the other bullshit i be at. on november seventh two thousand and four a deluge of iron and fire rains down on the city of two hundred mosques had to die it was a last stronghold for the al qaeda mujahedeen. twelve thousand marines three hundred tanks and one hundred also helicopters were launched against villages. the biggest urban battle in iraq was underway. after. the american victory was total the casualty figures speak for themselves one hundred american soldiers were killed and on the iraqi side it's estimated there

were between four and five thousand victims most of them civilians. the battle left a city in ruins where death continue to take its toll. in their offensive it's thought the u.s. troops used white phosphorous bombs and depleted uranium weapons banned by all international conventions. so our new passenger is not administrator at the general hospital. since the battle of fallujah ended he's got a record of the children born with congenital malformation. for him there's no

doubt the americans were responsible for this tragedy. for me the administrator's office becomes an empty. chamber of horrors. that i looked at the war is far from over in fact it's still going on for the stigmata are there and they're evolving in two thousand and five we know to a spectacular increase in genetic malformations a new born babies how large the. file. voters only show a tiny part of the reality just for the month of january we recorded forty three cases.

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