Looking Back on Coverage of the Iraq War

On March 20th, 2003, the U.S. and its allies invaded Iraq, officially beginning the Iraq war. Through the years of armed conflict, standout reporting from NPR gave listeners an unflinching look at the war.

Between January and June 2003, NPR aired more than 2,600 reports on Iraq–250 hours of duPont Award-winning coverage by John Burnett, Anne Garrels, Steve Inskeep, Christopher Joyce, Mike Shuster, Ivan Watson and Eric Westervelt. NPR’s team in Iraq and their colleagues in the United States covered all aspects of the war.

In particular, we want to remember the work of Anne Garrels, who passed away last fall from lung cancer. Her coverage in Iraq included an Iraqi teenager who thrust a container of human remains at reporters, and was only one example of her ambitious and gritty reporting work.

In 2007, NPR was honored again for its continued reporting on this dangerous story.

Despite the access and security challenges of reporting on the war in Iraq, NPR’s team of reporters, technicians, editors and their brave Iraqi colleagues continued to illuminate the conflict. Each story was a mini-documentary rich with characters, scene-setting, nuanced writing and strong production. 

Amid a blur of other daily war coverage, NPR’s pieces stood out for their unblinking look at the grim and rapidly changing war. These deeply reported stories about assassinations, citizens fleeing the country, the struggling Iraqi army, and the U.S. Marine building sewers merit a grateful remembrance.