As the world marks the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, it’s worth taking a look at this Reuters retrospective. It’s an affecting and manageably-sized look at the war and one agency’s coverage of it. A timeline features dozens of rich photographs by Reuters staffers. Charts break down where journalists have died covering the war, their nationality, and compare the toll to past conflicts.
In a video, Dean Yates, the wire’s current Baghdad bureau chief, talks about life in post-surge Iraq. “I feel quite comfortable. That’s partly because people like myself, as foreigners, we just really don’t go out on the streets of Baghdad. The view is that it’s still too dangerous for us… what really terrifies me is the safety of my Iraqi staff, because they are the ones out there taking risks.” He matter-of-factly notes that “as far as Reuters is concerned, most of our people have been killed by U.S. military action” before reading the names of the dead.
Clint Hendler is the managing editor of Mother Jones, and a former deputy editor of CJR.