Bombings and Accountability in Baghdad

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Reed Lower, Ashika Rajesh, Anne Eyckeler, Morgan Yazdi, Tim Sheehan 

 

Under the condition of war, what is justice?

Our neatline focuses on the various bombings that take place in Frankenstein in Baghdad and in real life in Baghdad. We map the locations of these bombings, highlighting where they are mentioned in the book and the details of the explosions that devasted them in real life.

The red locations signify the locations of explosions that have happened over time in Baghdad. The blue locations are the locations of explosions that take place within the book. The purple locations refer to bombings that are mentioned in the book and have also been the site of bombings in real life. The rectified map shows the locations in Baghdad, since 2003, where attacks have occurred in which more than 10 people have been killed. The timeline documents the dates of the bombings that have happened in real life.

List of locations in our project:

  • Shula District (Al-Shuala)
  • Oruba Square (Kadhimiya)
  • Bataween
  • Sadriya District (Jadriyah)
  • Karrada
  • Sadeer Novotel (Al Sadeer Palace Hotel)
  • Nahda Bus Station
  • Al-Tarmiya
  • Aden Square
  • Tayeran Square (aka Al-Tayaran Square)

The ambiguity of who is responsible for the bombings is more explicitly displayed in the book where nobody is entirely certain about who is to blame for the disasters details. In a state of fear, everyone points their fingers towards the Whatsitsname and, indirectly, at each other.

"Fear of the Whatsitsname continued to spread. In Sadr City they spoke of him as a Wahhabi, in Adamiya as a Shiite extremist. The Iraqi government described him as an agent of foreign powers, while the spokesman for the U.S. State Department said he was an ingenious man whose aim was to undermine the American project in Iraq ... As far as Brigadier Majid was concerned, the monster itself was their project. It was the Americans who were behind this monster." (268)

This quote examines the fear within the population that perpetuates the 'monster' behind the devastating attacks in Baghdad. The Whatsitsname attempts to dispense his version of justice, but he ultimately fails, reflecting the various groups in power that fail to impose justice. The Whatsitsname is stuck in between and hunted by the different forces, possible suggesting that everyone is to blame rather than one particular group. The idea of criminality and innocence is best explained by the Whatsitsname who ponders,

"There are no innocents who are completely innocent, and no criminals who are completely criminal."

Sources:

Saadawi, Ahmed. Frankenstein in Baghdad. 2018.