HomeUploadUpload DirectHotlinkRandomAbouttheme toggle
Expand

Comedian Ahmed Albasheer: The U.S. Invasion Created a Thousand Saddams

Views:889
@ReasonVids

"Anyone in a black suit and a black mask can break into my house and take me and kill my family."

------------------
Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/ReasonTV?subconfirmation=1
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Reason.Magazine/
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/reason

Reason is the planet's leading source of news, politics, and culture from a libertarian perspective. Go to reason.com for a point of view you won't get from legacy media and old left-right opinion magazines.
----------------

The comedian and political satirist Ahmed Albasheer is the most popular media figure in Iraq—half of the country regularly tunes into his show. An outspoken critic of government corruption, Albasheer has also lamented the failure of the 2003 U.S. invasion and the toppling of Saddam Hussein to bring democracy to the country.

"In Iraq, we have this saying that before Saddam we had one Saddam and now we have a thousand Saddams," Albasheer told Reason during an interview conducted in Miami at the 2021 Oslo Freedom Forum, a conference that gathers media figures, activists, and dissidents to talk about government oppression and human rights violations all over the world. The Albasheer Show, which started in 2014 and airs weekly on DW's Arabic channel, disappeared from Iraq's TV channels after the country's Communications and Media Commission banned it on the grounds that it wasn't "culturally appropriate." Iraqis are still able to watch the show online. 

Albasheer was also a supporter of the protest movement that started in 2019, which has called for an end to the sectarian political system established by the U.S. The Swiss-based Global Influence Research Centre named Albasheer one of the 20 most influential people in the Arab world.

Born and raised in Ramadi, which experienced the worst of the Iraq War, Albasheer lost several family members, including his brother and father. In 2005, he was kidnapped and tortured by a Shia militia. He hasn't stepped foot in his country since 2011.

The U.S. invasion "brought even worse people," he says. "When you ask Iraqis, they say before 2003 at last we had security…now anyone with a black suit and a black mask can break into my house and take me and kill my family."

Written and narrated by Noor Greene; intro edited by Isaac Reese; interview edited by Ian Keyser; shot by John Osterhoudt and Jim Epstein

Music: Antionetta Song by BoreÍs, Artlist

Photos: Sebastian Castelier/SIPA/Newscom, Stringer/Iraq/Reuters/Newscom

libertarian
,
reason magazine
,
reason.com
,
reason.tv
,
reasontv
,
ahmed albasheer
,
albasheer show
,
البشير شو
,
الانتخابات العراقية
,
dwعربية
,
قناة السومرية
,
أحمد البشير
,
جمهورية البشير
    Thumbnail for Garry Kasparov: From Communism’s Last Chess Champion to Freedom Fighter1:25:42
    Garry Kasparov: From Communism’s Last Chess Champion to Freedom Fighter
    ReasonVids
    906 views
    Thumbnail for Political Speech, Cellphone Searches, and the Future of TV: Three Supreme Court Cases to Watch4:26
    Political Speech, Cellphone Searches, and the Future of TV: Three Supreme Court Cases to Watch
    ReasonVids
    1030 views
    Thumbnail for The new Paris.0:27
    The new Paris.
    AOUisgay
    599 views
    Thumbnail for A.I. stands for 190:22
    A.I. stands for 19
    bestofupgoat
    105 views
    Thumbnail for fukn A! clownworld has come full circle0:54
    fukn A! clownworld has come full circle
    bestofupgoat
    451 views
    Thumbnail for "The Skeptical Environmentalist": A Conversation with John Tierney and Bjorn Lomborg27:03
    "The Skeptical Environmentalist": A Conversation with John Tierney and Bjorn Lomborg
    ReasonVids
    906 views
    Thumbnail for An Economist Walks Into a Brothel: What Prostitutes and Big-Wave Surfers Can Teach Us About Risk7:06
    An Economist Walks Into a Brothel: What Prostitutes and Big-Wave Surfers Can Teach Us About Risk
    ReasonVids
    812 views
    Thumbnail for Nigger tries to sneak up on a pack of geese to throw a snowball...0:25
    Nigger tries to sneak up on a pack of geese to throw a snowball...
    bestofupgoat
    127 views
    Thumbnail for Birds help clean the streets0:11
    Birds help clean the streets
    Dismiss
    1340 views
    Thumbnail for childhood. | Incognito Mode21:22
    childhood. | Incognito Mode
    invidious
    323 views
    Thumbnail for con77 vents at the TV0:17
    con77 vents at the TV
    bestofupgoat
    355 views
    Thumbnail for Movies1:09
    Movies
    bestofupgoat
    215 views
    Thumbnail for Cops Shutdown Jerry Seinfeld; What's Up with Lemonade Stands? (Nanny of the Month, Aug ‘15)1:25
    Cops Shutdown Jerry Seinfeld; What's Up with Lemonade Stands? (Nanny of the Month, Aug ‘15)
    ReasonVids
    883 views
    Thumbnail for Nigger Drives To Walmart0:05
    Nigger Drives To Walmart
    bestofupgoat
    488 views
    Thumbnail for Fat Albert wins $20K in the lottery. instead of putting it in a bank and doing something positive he buys a stupid dumbass gold chain to wear around his neck. Guess what happens next.1:49
    Fat Albert wins $20K in the lottery. instead of putting it in a bank and doing something positive he buys a stupid dumbass gold chain to wear around his neck. Guess what happens next.
    AOUisgay
    536 views
    Thumbnail for Cursed Desmos Sounds (Part 9) | Scyth39341:05
    Cursed Desmos Sounds (Part 9) | Scyth3934
    invidious
    416 views
    Thumbnail for The New World Order: I Thought that Was Just a Conspiracy Theory? (21:04) ~ Computing Forever21:05
    The New World Order: I Thought that Was Just a Conspiracy Theory? (21:04) ~ Computing Forever
    bestofsaidit
    783 views
    Thumbnail for Feminist fakes being knocked out after getting slapped on her shoulder/arm0:29
    Feminist fakes being knocked out after getting slapped on her shoulder/arm
    AOU
    2638 views
    Thumbnail for Joe Talks About "Knees Over Toes Guy" | PowerfulJRE7:12
    Joe Talks About "Knees Over Toes Guy" | PowerfulJRE
    invidious
    412 views
    Thumbnail for how to get fired in 10 minutes or less | Memology 1010:30
    how to get fired in 10 minutes or less | Memology 101
    memology101
    705 views
    Thumbnail for Femoid.christ has encountered an unexpected error0:55
    Femoid.christ has encountered an unexpected error
    bestofupgoat
    283 views
    Thumbnail for Every Political Ad Ever1:27
    Every Political Ad Ever
    ReasonVids
    991 views
    Thumbnail for giving snakes there legs back. | Allen Pan9:53
    giving snakes there legs back. | Allen Pan
    invidious
    477 views
    Thumbnail for Hey! I am russian farm girl. | Anastasie Vaskevich3:18
    Hey! I am russian farm girl. | Anastasie Vaskevich
    invidious
    570 views

points

Permalink
Reply
libertarian
,
reason magazine
,
reason.com
,
reason.tv
,
reasontv
,
ahmed albasheer
,
albasheer show
,
البشير شو
,
الانتخابات العراقية
,
dwعربية
,
قناة السومرية
,
أحمد البشير
,
جمهورية البشير
TOS  •  Add Keywords  •  Donate  •   Analytics  •   DMCA  •   Puzzle