BAGHDAD — Of his countless stories of his life as a hairdresser in Iraq, the one Qaiss al-Sharaa most enjoys retelling is about the day April 9, 2003, when he watched Iraqis and American Marines pull down the statue of Saddam Hussein in front of his salon in Baghdad’s Firdos Square.
The 39-foot statue of the Iraqi dictator extending his right hand was erected just a year earlier to celebrate his 65th birthday.
“There were lots of younger Iraqis from around the country with the American troops topping the statue — who naturally wanted their freedom,” al-Sharaa told The Associated Press. “The statue showed the face of a man everyone feared.”
For the world, it became an iconic moment of the U.S.-led invasion; live TV coverage as Marines tied the statue to a vehicle to pull the statue down inflated it into a symbol of the end of Saddam’s quarter-century rule. In reality, the Firdos Square statue was a minor part of the huge number of monuments and palaces that Saddam erected to show off his power.
JEROME DELAY, Associated Press
The toppled statue of Saddam Hussein is seen April 9, 2003, in Firdos Square, downtown Baghdad.
All his statues and images are long gone now, 20 years after that day. Many of his palaces and buildings have been repurposed for a new Iraq. But much of the hope that came in wiping away Saddam’s oppressive visual presence has also evaporated, burned away first by years of brutal violence and now by a wrecked economy and rampant corruption by the new political elite of sectarian-based factions.
Firdos Square has been refurbished as a small park, funded by private banks. On a building towering over the square is a large mural of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani — assassinated in a 2020 U.S. drone strike — and Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.
It is the sort of Shiite imagery that proliferates around Baghdad because of the domination of Iran-backed Shiite parties in the government.
“This new garden that replaced Saddam’s represents the widespread corruption in Iraq today, underneath the nice greenery and fountains,” said al-Sharaa. He said that while he doesn’t miss Saddam’s rule he does miss “the rule of the law.”
“Families are too scared to take their kids there, because drug dealers hang out there at night,” he said of the square.
Lefteris Pitarakis, Associated Press
Smoke billows from the base of a sculpture depicting Iraqi President Saddam Hussein April 13, 2003, after looters set it on fire atop the roof of his Al-Salam Presidential Palace in Baghdad.
It’s not known what happened to most of the Saddam statue, but pieces of it were taken away by souvenir hunters.
A group of young U.S. Marines from Utah in 2003 said they sawed off the statue’s right hand and intended to sell it on eBay. But it disappeared from their cargo as they tried to smuggle it home on their military flight back.
All they have is the photo they took of themselves holding it like a prized fish.
In 2016, a German antiques dealer said he bought Hussein’s left leg and then resold it on eBay for more than $100,000. British journalist Nigel Ely wrote a 2017 book about a chunk of Saddam’s left buttock that he pried off the statue. He tried to auction it off for charity but didn’t get a high enough bid.
Saddam’s policy of filling Baghdad and other cities with palaces and statues and portraits of himself “created this image of this divine leader,” Senior Research Fellow at Chatham House Renad Mansour told the AP. Saddam “needed to project power in different ways to remind the people who was in charge.”
Some of Saddam’s signature monuments remain in place, largely because they had a nationalist meaning that went beyond him.
Hadi Mizban, Associated Press
An Iraqi soldier passes under the Victory Arch monument built by former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein Feb. 28 in Baghdad.
Still towering over the Tigris River, for example, are the Victory Arch, formed by two giant hands holding crossed swords, and two large turquoise half-domes called the al-Shaheed Monument, or Martyrs’ Monument. They were opened in 1983 and 1989 to commemorate those killed in Iraq’s war with Iran in the 1980s.
The al-Faw Palace was built on an island in the middle of an artificial lake by Saddam in the 1990s to mark the retaking of the peninsula of the same name during the war. It was first used post-2003 as a U.S. coalition military headquarters called Camp Victory. Later it was turned into the American University in Baghdad, through funding by influential Iraqi businessman Saadi Saihood.
Saddam’s presence can still be found on campus. His initials are etched on the walls and ceilings. The artificial lake is still stocked with a breed of giant carp that U.S. soldiers called “Saddam bass.”
Hadi Mizban, Associated Press
Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's palace of al-Faw is seen March 23 in Baghdad. The palace today is the location of the American University.
AUB Vice President Dr. Dawn Dekle said it was important to preserve the university’s history.
“This palace belongs to the future of Iraq,” she told the AP.
She now hopes the university can be a tool to retain Iraq’s youth after years of Iraqis leaving the country.
“The generation that went abroad are wanting to send their sons and daughters back to Iraq so they can experience it.”
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20 years after U.S. invasion, young Iraqis see signs of hope
Jerome Delay
A man has his beard shaved by a barber in Fallujah, Iraq, on Thursday, March 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Jerome Delay
A man has his beard shaved by a barber in Fallujah, Iraq, on Thursday, March 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
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20 years after U.S. invasion, young Iraqis see signs of hope
Jerome Delay
A motorized rickshaw, or tuk tuk, rides past the entrance of Abu Ghraib, Iraq, west of Baghdad, on Thursday, March 2, 2023. For Iraqis, the war and U.S. occupation which started two decades ago were traumatic – an estimated 300,000 Iraqis were killed between 2003 and 2019, according to an estimate by the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University, in addition to some 4,000 Americans. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Jerome Delay
A motorized rickshaw, or tuk tuk, rides past the entrance of Abu Ghraib, Iraq, west of Baghdad, on Thursday, March 2, 2023. For Iraqis, the war and U.S. occupation which started two decades ago were traumatic – an estimated 300,000 Iraqis were killed between 2003 and 2019, according to an estimate by the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University, in addition to some 4,000 Americans. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
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20 years after U.S. invasion, young Iraqis see signs of hope
Jerome Delay
The sun sets over Baghdad, Iraq, on Thursday, March 2, 2023. A U.S.-led war twenty years ago deposed a dictator whose imprisonment, torture and execution of dissenters had kept 20 million people living in fear for a quarter of a century. But it also broke what had been a unified state at the heart of the Arab world. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Jerome Delay
The sun sets over Baghdad, Iraq, on Thursday, March 2, 2023. A U.S.-led war twenty years ago deposed a dictator whose imprisonment, torture and execution of dissenters had kept 20 million people living in fear for a quarter of a century. But it also broke what had been a unified state at the heart of the Arab world. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
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20 years after U.S. invasion, young Iraqis see signs of hope
Jerome Delay
A man makes his way to the al-Kadhimayn shrine in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday Feb. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Jerome Delay
A man makes his way to the al-Kadhimayn shrine in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday Feb. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
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20 years after U.S. invasion, young Iraqis see signs of hope
Jerome Delay
Youths gather along the Tigris River for a concert by rap artist OG Khalifa in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday Feb. 25, 2023. One of the songs he performed mocks “sheikhs,” those who wield power in the new Iraq through wealth or political connections. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Jerome Delay
Youths gather along the Tigris River for a concert by rap artist OG Khalifa in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday Feb. 25, 2023. One of the songs he performed mocks “sheikhs,” those who wield power in the new Iraq through wealth or political connections. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
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20 years after U.S. invasion, young Iraqis see signs of hope
Jerome Delay
Pensioners, some of whom were prisoners of war during the first Gulf War, demonstrate outside the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Feb. 27, 2023. A U.S.-led war two decades earlier deposed a dictator whose imprisonment, torture and execution of dissenters had kept 20 million people living in fear for a quarter of a century. But it also broke what had been a unified state at the heart of the Arab world. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Jerome Delay
Pensioners, some of whom were prisoners of war during the first Gulf War, demonstrate outside the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Feb. 27, 2023. A U.S.-led war two decades earlier deposed a dictator whose imprisonment, torture and execution of dissenters had kept 20 million people living in fear for a quarter of a century. But it also broke what had been a unified state at the heart of the Arab world. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
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20 years after U.S. invasion, young Iraqis see signs of hope
Jerome Delay
Youths wait for a ride on the bridge crossing the Euphrates River in Fallujah, Iraq, Thursday, March 2, 2023. In 2004, four armed contractors working for the private military contractor Blackwater were killed and their bodies hung from the bridge. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Jerome Delay
Youths wait for a ride on the bridge crossing the Euphrates River in Fallujah, Iraq, Thursday, March 2, 2023. In 2004, four armed contractors working for the private military contractor Blackwater were killed and their bodies hung from the bridge. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
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20 years after U.S. invasion, young Iraqis see signs of hope
Jerome Delay
Riot police take position on the outskirts of the Green Zone as pensioners, some of whom were prisoners of war during the first Gulf War, demonstrate in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Feb. 27, 2023. A U.S.-led war two decades earlier deposed a dictator whose imprisonment, torture and execution of dissenters had kept 20 million people living in fear for a quarter of a century. But it also broke what had been a unified state at the heart of the Arab world. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Jerome Delay
Riot police take position on the outskirts of the Green Zone as pensioners, some of whom were prisoners of war during the first Gulf War, demonstrate in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Feb. 27, 2023. A U.S.-led war two decades earlier deposed a dictator whose imprisonment, torture and execution of dissenters had kept 20 million people living in fear for a quarter of a century. But it also broke what had been a unified state at the heart of the Arab world. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
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20 years after U.S. invasion, young Iraqis see signs of hope
Jerome Delay
A family drinks tea at the Alshabander cafe on Al-Mutanabbi street in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023. Iraq’s capital today is full of life and a sense of renewal, its residents enjoying a hopeful, peaceful interlude in a painful modern history. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Jerome Delay
A family drinks tea at the Alshabander cafe on Al-Mutanabbi street in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023. Iraq’s capital today is full of life and a sense of renewal, its residents enjoying a hopeful, peaceful interlude in a painful modern history. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
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20 years after U.S. invasion, young Iraqis see signs of hope
Jerome Delay
Women stand on the "martyrs' bridge" spanning the Tigris River in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Jerome Delay
Women stand on the "martyrs' bridge" spanning the Tigris River in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
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20 years after U.S. invasion, young Iraqis see signs of hope
Jerome Delay
A man holds his cellphone near Al-Mutanabbi street in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023. Two decades after a U.S.-led invasion, Iraq’s capital today is full of life and a sense of renewal, its residents enjoying a hopeful, peaceful interlude in a painful modern history. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Jerome Delay
A man holds his cellphone near Al-Mutanabbi street in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023. Two decades after a U.S.-led invasion, Iraq’s capital today is full of life and a sense of renewal, its residents enjoying a hopeful, peaceful interlude in a painful modern history. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
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20 years after U.S. invasion, young Iraqis see signs of hope
Jerome Delay
Worshippers gather for Friday prayers in the Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad, on Friday, March 3, 2023. This working-class, conservative and largely Shiite suburb in eastern Baghdad is home to more than 1.5 million people. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Jerome Delay
Worshippers gather for Friday prayers in the Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad, on Friday, March 3, 2023. This working-class, conservative and largely Shiite suburb in eastern Baghdad is home to more than 1.5 million people. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
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20 years after U.S. invasion, young Iraqis see signs of hope
Jerome Delay
Youths gather along the Tigris River for a concert by rap artist OG Khalifa in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday Feb. 25, 2023. One of the songs he performs mocks “sheikhs,” those who wield power in the new Iraq through wealth or political connections. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Jerome Delay
Youths gather along the Tigris River for a concert by rap artist OG Khalifa in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday Feb. 25, 2023. One of the songs he performs mocks “sheikhs,” those who wield power in the new Iraq through wealth or political connections. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
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20 years after U.S. invasion, young Iraqis see signs of hope
Jerome Delay
A U.S.-branded muscle car speeds through the streets of Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Jerome Delay
A U.S.-branded muscle car speeds through the streets of Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
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20 years after U.S. invasion, young Iraqis see signs of hope
Jerome Delay
A family heads to the al-Kadhimayn shrine in Baghdad, Iraq, on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023. For Iraqis, the war and U.S. occupation which started two decades ago were traumatic – an estimated 300,000 Iraqis were killed between 2003 and 2019, according to an estimate by the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University, in addition to some 4,000 Americans. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Jerome Delay
A family heads to the al-Kadhimayn shrine in Baghdad, Iraq, on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023. For Iraqis, the war and U.S. occupation which started two decades ago were traumatic – an estimated 300,000 Iraqis were killed between 2003 and 2019, according to an estimate by the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University, in addition to some 4,000 Americans. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
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20 years after U.S. invasion, young Iraqis see signs of hope
Jerome Delay
Two students celebrate their graduation at the upscale Qalaat Baghdad restaurant complex built in a former palace of Saddam Hussein along the Tigris River in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Jerome Delay
Two students celebrate their graduation at the upscale Qalaat Baghdad restaurant complex built in a former palace of Saddam Hussein along the Tigris River in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
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20 years after U.S. invasion, young Iraqis see signs of hope
Jerome Delay
Safaa Rashid looks into a security camera in a Baghdad cafe, Monday, Feb. 27, 2023. The 26-year-old was a child when the Americans arrived in 2003, but he said he rues "the loss of a state, a country that had law and establishment." (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Jerome Delay
Safaa Rashid looks into a security camera in a Baghdad cafe, Monday, Feb. 27, 2023. The 26-year-old was a child when the Americans arrived in 2003, but he said he rues "the loss of a state, a country that had law and establishment." (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
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20 years after U.S. invasion, young Iraqis see signs of hope
Jerome Delay
Noor Alhuda Saad, 26, a Ph.D. candidate at Mustansiriya University who describes herself as a political activist, sits in a Baghdad cafe on Wednesday, March 1, 2023. She says her generation has been leading protests decrying corruption, demanding services and seeking more inclusive elections -- and won’t stop till they’ve built a better Iraq. “The people in power do not see these as important issues for them to solve. And that is why we are active.” (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Jerome Delay
Noor Alhuda Saad, 26, a Ph.D. candidate at Mustansiriya University who describes herself as a political activist, sits in a Baghdad cafe on Wednesday, March 1, 2023. She says her generation has been leading protests decrying corruption, demanding services and seeking more inclusive elections -- and won’t stop till they’ve built a better Iraq. “The people in power do not see these as important issues for them to solve. And that is why we are active.” (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
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20 years after U.S. invasion, young Iraqis see signs of hope
Jerome Delay
Members of a cycling club take to the roads for a 50-kilometer (31-mile) trip in Baghdad, Iraq, on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. The group organizes rides weekly for scores of men and women who see bike-riding as a healthy way to relieve life's stress and for good company. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Jerome Delay
Members of a cycling club take to the roads for a 50-kilometer (31-mile) trip in Baghdad, Iraq, on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. The group organizes rides weekly for scores of men and women who see bike-riding as a healthy way to relieve life's stress and for good company. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
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20 years after U.S. invasion, young Iraqis see signs of hope
Jerome Delay
A veiled woman walks through the Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, March 1, 2023. This working-class, conservative and largely Shiite suburb in eastern Baghdad is home to more than 1.5 million people. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Jerome Delay
A veiled woman walks through the Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, March 1, 2023. This working-class, conservative and largely Shiite suburb in eastern Baghdad is home to more than 1.5 million people. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
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20 years after U.S. invasion, young Iraqis see signs of hope
Jerome Delay
Youths gather along the Tigris River for a concert by rap artist Khalifa OG in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday Feb. 25, 2023. In his music, he sings about the difficulties of finding work and satirizes authority, but is not blatantly political. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Jerome Delay
Youths gather along the Tigris River for a concert by rap artist Khalifa OG in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday Feb. 25, 2023. In his music, he sings about the difficulties of finding work and satirizes authority, but is not blatantly political. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
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20 years after U.S. invasion, young Iraqis see signs of hope
Jerome Delay
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani sits for a portrait in his office in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, March 1, 2023. Unlike other Shiite politicians who fled Iraq during the Saddam Hussein era, he never left Iraq, even after his father and five brothers were executed by the regime. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Jerome Delay
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani sits for a portrait in his office in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, March 1, 2023. Unlike other Shiite politicians who fled Iraq during the Saddam Hussein era, he never left Iraq, even after his father and five brothers were executed by the regime. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
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20 years after U.S. invasion, young Iraqis see signs of hope
Jerome Delay
In a long exposure photo, night sets on Firdos Square, the site where American soldiers downed a statue of Saddam Hussein two decades earlier in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. Today's Iraq is a world away from the terror that followed the U.S. invasion to depose Saddam Hussein. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Jerome Delay
In a long exposure photo, night sets on Firdos Square, the site where American soldiers downed a statue of Saddam Hussein two decades earlier in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. Today's Iraq is a world away from the terror that followed the U.S. invasion to depose Saddam Hussein. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
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20 years after U.S. invasion, young Iraqis see signs of hope
Jerome Delay
Young men chat near Al-Mutanabbi street in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023. Two decades after a U.S.-led invasion, Iraq’s capital today is full of life and a sense of renewal, its residents enjoying a hopeful, peaceful interlude in a painful modern history. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Jerome Delay
Young men chat near Al-Mutanabbi street in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023. Two decades after a U.S.-led invasion, Iraq’s capital today is full of life and a sense of renewal, its residents enjoying a hopeful, peaceful interlude in a painful modern history. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
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20 years after U.S. invasion, young Iraqis see signs of hope
Jerome Delay
A man touches the door of the Office of the Martyr al-Sadr in Baghdad's Sadr City Friday, Feb. 24, 2023. This working-class, conservative and largely Shiite suburb in eastern Baghdad is home to more than 1.5 million people. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Jerome Delay
A man touches the door of the Office of the Martyr al-Sadr in Baghdad's Sadr City Friday, Feb. 24, 2023. This working-class, conservative and largely Shiite suburb in eastern Baghdad is home to more than 1.5 million people. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
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20 years after U.S. invasion, young Iraqis see signs of hope
Jerome Delay
A man reads a book at the Alshabander cafe on Al-Mutanabbi street in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023. A U.S.-led war two decades earlier deposed a dictator whose imprisonment, torture and execution of dissenters had kept 20 million people living in fear for a quarter of a century. But it also broke what had been a unified state at the heart of the Arab world. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Jerome Delay
A man reads a book at the Alshabander cafe on Al-Mutanabbi street in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023. A U.S.-led war two decades earlier deposed a dictator whose imprisonment, torture and execution of dissenters had kept 20 million people living in fear for a quarter of a century. But it also broke what had been a unified state at the heart of the Arab world. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
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20 years after U.S. invasion, young Iraqis see signs of hope
Jerome Delay
A woman walks through the narrow streets of Alsadria neighborhood in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Feb. 27, 2023. For Iraqis, the trauma from the war and U.S. occupation launched twenty years ago is undeniable – an estimated 300,000 Iraqis were killed between 2003 and 2019, according to the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University, as were more than 8,000 U.S. military, contractors and civilians. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Jerome Delay
A woman walks through the narrow streets of Alsadria neighborhood in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Feb. 27, 2023. For Iraqis, the trauma from the war and U.S. occupation launched twenty years ago is undeniable – an estimated 300,000 Iraqis were killed between 2003 and 2019, according to the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University, as were more than 8,000 U.S. military, contractors and civilians. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
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20 years after U.S. invasion, young Iraqis see signs of hope
Jerome Delay
Mohammed Zuad Khaman, center, prepares kebabs at his family's cafe in one of Baghdad's poorer neighborhoods along King Ghazi Street on Monday, Feb. 27, 2023. Khaman is a talented footballer, but he says he cannot get an opportunity to play in any of Baghdad's amateur clubs because he does not have any "in" with the militia-related gangs that control sports teams in the city. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Jerome Delay
Mohammed Zuad Khaman, center, prepares kebabs at his family's cafe in one of Baghdad's poorer neighborhoods along King Ghazi Street on Monday, Feb. 27, 2023. Khaman is a talented footballer, but he says he cannot get an opportunity to play in any of Baghdad's amateur clubs because he does not have any "in" with the militia-related gangs that control sports teams in the city. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
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20 years after U.S. invasion, young Iraqis see signs of hope
Jerome Delay
Muscle car aficionados gather at Baghdad's hippodrome to watch an informal drifting contest Friday, Feb. 24, 2023. Two decades after a U.S.-led invasion, Iraq’s capital today is full of life and a sense of renewal, its residents enjoying a hopeful, peaceful interlude in a painful modern history. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Jerome Delay
Muscle car aficionados gather at Baghdad's hippodrome to watch an informal drifting contest Friday, Feb. 24, 2023. Two decades after a U.S.-led invasion, Iraq’s capital today is full of life and a sense of renewal, its residents enjoying a hopeful, peaceful interlude in a painful modern history. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
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20 years after U.S. invasion, young Iraqis see signs of hope
Jerome Delay
The ferris wheel of Baghdad's Alzawraa amusement park shines in the night in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023. Two decades after a U.S.-led invasion, Iraq’s capital today is full of life and a sense of renewal, its residents enjoying a hopeful, peaceful interlude in a painful modern history. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Jerome Delay
The ferris wheel of Baghdad's Alzawraa amusement park shines in the night in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023. Two decades after a U.S.-led invasion, Iraq’s capital today is full of life and a sense of renewal, its residents enjoying a hopeful, peaceful interlude in a painful modern history. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
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20 years after U.S. invasion, young Iraqis see signs of hope
Jerome Delay
A man holds a vintage stamps featuring King Faisal II near Al-Mutanabbi street in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Jerome Delay
A man holds a vintage stamps featuring King Faisal II near Al-Mutanabbi street in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
