01: War | Once Upon a Time in Iraq

Duration: 59'34''

Synopsis

As war began, many Iraqis were hopeful. Ahmed Al Bashir, now a famous comedian, remembers practising his English with US troops before the realities of occupation became clear.

Further Information

More clips from Once Upon a Time in Iraq

02: Insurgency | Once Upon a Time in Iraq

02: Insurgency | Once Upon a Time in Iraq

BBC Two | 2020 | 59'19''

The Iraqi insurgency is examined through Lt Colonel Sassaman’s descent into the darkest regions of his psyche.

03: Fallujah | Once Upon a Time in Iraq

03: Fallujah | Once Upon a Time in Iraq

BBC Two | 2020 | 59'28''

The infamous battle of Fallujah is told by eye-witness accounts from journalists, soldiers and civilians.

04: Saddam | Once Upon a Time in Iraq

04: Saddam | Once Upon a Time in Iraq

BBC Two | 2020 | 59'31''

When Saddam Hussein is captured by American troops, CIA analyst John Nixon is the first person to interrogate him. Saddam’s answers lea...

05: Legacy | Once Upon a Time in Iraq

05: Legacy | Once Upon a Time in Iraq

BBC Two | 2020 | 59'28''

America eventually leaves Iraq, but when Isis emerges to take over huge swathes of the country, the US is forced back to confront the b...

02: Insurgency | Once Upon a Time in Iraq

02: Insurgency | Once Upon a Time in Iraq

BBC Two | 2020 | 59'19''

The Iraqi insurgency is examined through Lt Colonel Sassaman’s descent into the darkest regions of his psyche.

03: Fallujah | Once Upon a Time in Iraq

03: Fallujah | Once Upon a Time in Iraq

BBC Two | 2020 | 59'28''

The infamous battle of Fallujah is told by eye-witness accounts from journalists, soldiers and civilians.

04: Saddam | Once Upon a Time in Iraq

04: Saddam | Once Upon a Time in Iraq

BBC Two | 2020 | 59'31''

When Saddam Hussein is captured by American troops, CIA analyst John Nixon is the first person to interrogate him. Saddam’s answers lea...

05: Legacy | Once Upon a Time in Iraq

05: Legacy | Once Upon a Time in Iraq

BBC Two | 2020 | 59'28''

America eventually leaves Iraq, but when Isis emerges to take over huge swathes of the country, the US is forced back to confront the b...

More resources about Middle-Eastern history

S01E06: Kristallnacht | Days That Shook the World

S01E06: Kristallnacht | Days That Shook the World

BBC Two | 2003 | 29'28''

Two days defined the fortunes of 20th-century Jews: Kristallnacht on September 9, 1938, a turning point in Nazi persecution...

The Settlers | Louis Theroux

The Settlers | Louis Theroux

BBC Two | 2025 | 1'01'58''

Fourteen years after his first visit, Louis Theroux meets some of the growing community of religious-nationalist Israelis who have settled in th...

S01E06: The Birth of Israel | Days That Shook the World

S01E06: The Birth of Israel | Days That Shook the World

BBC Two | 2003 | 29'49''

Two days defined the fortunes of 20th-century Jews: Kristallnacht on September 9, 1938, a turning point in Nazi perse...

The Road to Palmyra

The Road to Palmyra

BBC Four | 2018 | 59'03''

Documentary which follows historian Dan Cruickshank and photographer Don McCullin into war-torn Syria on a mission to document the cultural destruction w...

A History of Syria with Dan Snow | This World

A History of Syria with Dan Snow | This World

BBC HD | 2013 | 59'15''

Dan Snow travels to Syria to see how the current civil war has been shaped by the country's tumultuous history, unpicking the h...

S03E08: The Iranian Revolution | Days That Shook the World

S03E08: The Iranian Revolution | Days That Shook the World

BBC Two | 2005 | 29'42''

The departure of the Shah of Iran while Ayatollah Khomeini awaited in Paris.

01: Wellspring of Holiness | Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City

01: Wellspring of Holiness | Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City

BBC Four | 2011 | 59'02''

Simon Sebag Montefiore begins a history of Jerusalem by exploring how it came into being and how it became ...

S01E08: Lockerbie | Days That Shook the World

S01E08: Lockerbie | Days That Shook the World

BBC Two | 2003 | 29'46''

How the commercial airplane has been used as a terrorist weapon: the Lockerbie disaster in 1988.

17: Good Guys, Bad Guys: 1967-1978 | Cold War

17: Good Guys, Bad Guys: 1967-1978 | Cold War

BBC Two | 1998 | 46'25''

Under Détente the superpowers continued their rivalry, but carefully avoided direct conflict by courting allies in the developi...

Baghdad | Panorama

Baghdad | Panorama

BBC | 1956 | 21'46''

Including a report by Adrian Crawley from Baghdad, Edward Ward speaking from the Hungarian Frontier, an interview by Christopher Chataway of an Australian...

Iran Hostage Rescue | Surviving Disaster

Iran Hostage Rescue | Surviving Disaster

BBC One | 2006 | 58'59''

Recreates the failed operation to rescue 66 Americans taken hostage at the US Embassy in Tehran in 1979, a failure that cost Jimmy C...

Isis: Terror in Iraq | Panorama

Isis: Terror in Iraq | Panorama

BBC One | 2014 | 28'58''

An investigation into Isis and how it is ripping Iraq apart. Paul Wood speaks to members of the terror group and sees the fighting in Iraq fi...

S02E08: Terrorism: Assassination of Abraham Lincoln | Days That Shook the World

S02E08: Terrorism: Assassination of Abraham Lincoln | Days That Shook the World

BBC Two | 2004 | 29'31''

How the commercial airplane has been used as a terrorist weapon: the Black September hijackin...

The fall of the Ottoman Empire | Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City

The fall of the Ottoman Empire | Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City

BBC Four | 2011 | 2'44''

Simon Sebag Montefiore discusses the role that Britain played following the fall of the Ottoman Empire ...

01: 1948-56 | The Fifty Years War: Israel and the Arabs

01: 1948-56 | The Fifty Years War: Israel and the Arabs

BBC Two | 1998 | 49'03''

In 1948, the state of Israel was proclaimed. This episode recounts how the US, later Israel's greatest ally, came clo...

01: Betrayal | Suez: A Very British Crisis

01: Betrayal | Suez: A Very British Crisis

BBC Two | 2006 | 59'09''

Archive material, interviews, and dramatisations provide an insight into to the Suez crisis of 1956; the Egyptian uprising that br...

01: Regime Change | The Iraq War

01: Regime Change | The Iraq War

BBC Two | 2013 | 59'28''

This episode investigates how the US and Britain became convinced that Saddam possessed WMDs.

02: 1967 | The Fifty Years War: Israel and the Arabs

02: 1967 | The Fifty Years War: Israel and the Arabs

BBC Two | 1998 | 48'31''

Tracing the pattern of dramatic and covert events leading to the Six Day War of June 1967.

02: After the Fall | The Iraq War

02: After the Fall | The Iraq War

BBC Two | 2013 | 59'24''

Key insiders describe their roles in the chaotic aftermath of the defeat of Saddam Hussein.

02: Conspiracy | Suez: A Very British Crisis

02: Conspiracy | Suez: A Very British Crisis

BBC Two | 2006 | 59'31''

This episode provides an insight into the way in which Eden secretly plotted with France and Israel, behind the USA's back, not ...