PUBLIC LECTURE: Iraq Ablaze

When members of the Iraqi resistance first told their story to the world, they told it to Zaki Chehab, a tenacious and celebrated Middle East journalist. Zaki Chehab is the first reporter to have broadcast interviews with the Iraqi resistance. His recently released book Iraq Ablaze is a journalistic scoop, being the first and only insider account of the resistance by a well respected journalist.

Who are the insurgents? And what really drives them? Since the fall of Baghdad in April 2003, Zaki Chehab has had unique access to the leaders of the Iraqi resistance. Iraq Ablaze provides the first authoritative portrait of the insurgency in all its complexity. Weaving between the perspectives of local insider and international observer, he takes us through the critical moments in post-occupation Iraq such as the bombing of the UN Headquarters, the Najaf uprising and the battle for Fallujah. He examines the regional networks of arms, soldiers and ideology feeding into Iraq, revealing some surprising links. Embedded with them for weeks on end, Chehab is able to show how the resistance fighters really view the elections, the Iranians and Al Qaeda. As well-connected in diplomatic circles as he is amongst the footsoldiers of Fallujah, Chehab also reveals facets of the occupiers' strategy never discussed in the West.

The battle for Iraq is the most commented on and misunderstood struggle of our times, and no one is better placed to explain its intricacies, or to convey the reality of life on the front line.

Speaker Profile:

Zaki Chehab is one of the Arab world's leading journalists. He is political editor of the London-based Al Hayat and of the Arabic TV channel LBC. For over twenty-five years he has covered Middle Eastern conflicts as a commentator for the Arab and Western media, including CNN, BBC, and Al Jazeera, and contributing to the Guardian.

Zaki Chehab’s Australian tour is supported by the Victorian Peace Network; Institute of Advanced Studies at UWA; and Palgrave Macmillan.