Witness Iraq: A War Journal: February - April 2003

The Shock and Awe campaign may be over, but images from the war in Iraq still burn in many people's minds. The red-and-yellow-tinged smoke rising from the nightline of the burning capital, the toppling of the giant statue of Saddam Hussein, the triumph of coalition soldiers lounging in the dictator's palace--Saba's collection of war photographs contains pictures of all these events. Dozens of photographers from various news services (AP, Corbis, Reuters, etc.) contributed works to the volume, which focuses on the invasion and liberation of Baghdad. Most of the photos were taken with digital cameras, and sometimes this shows--in loss of detail, in pixilated edges--but they are powerful nonetheless. Giles Penfold captures a long line of sunburned backs as British troops bathe under an improvised shower. The black machine guns of the guerilla group Fedayeen Saddam contrast with the white death shrouds of its members. Francesco Zizola provides one of the most affecting pictures: a wounded Iraqi girl, her eyebrows furrowed in a confused expression of sorrow and pain, stares helplessly into the camera as two nurses attend to her wounds. (It's a shame that the book's design interferes a little with one's appreciation of these images; though the book is large-format, most of the photographs are laid out over two pages, so the middle crease cuts through the center of the composition.) The book's few pages of text--which alternate between diary-like entries by photojournalist Seamus Conlan and news-filled web postings by U.S. serviceman LT Smash--give another perspective on the battle, making this a valuable and timely contribution to coverage of the war.