In a special episode of Babel to mark the 20th anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq war, Jon sits down with two Iraqi guests to talk about the aftermath of the U.S.-led invasion. Dr. Marsin Alshamary is a research fellow with the Middle East Initiative at Harvard's Belfer Center, and Hamzeh Hadad is an adjunct fellow with the Center for New American Security. Alshamary and Hadad talk about how the war in Iraq has shaped both Iraqi politics and their own lives, their experiences as members of the diaspora who travel extensively to Iraq, the lingering effects of the Saddam Hussein era, and the future of Iraqi politics. Then, Jon continues the conversation with Will Todman and Lubna Yousef, discussing the different ways in which diaspora communities interact with both their home countries and their host countries.  Marsin Alshamary and Hamzeh Hadad, “The Collective Neglect of Southern Iraq: Missed Opportunities for Development and Good Governance,” International Peacekeeping, February 16, 2023.   Hamzeh Hadad, “Climate of opportunity: Iraq’s new government as regional conciliator,” European Council on Foreign Relations, November 4, 2022.   Marsin Alshamary, “Authoritarian Nostalgia Among Iraqi Youth,” War on the Rocks, July 25, 2018.   Transcript, "Iraq 20 Years Later," CSIS, March 21, 2023.