Between the Artist and the General: War Memories of Baghdad

摘要

In Baghdad Diaries: A Woman's Chronicle of War and Exile, the Iraqi artist Nuha al-Radi gives a first-hand account of civilian suffering during the incessant American bombardment of Baghdad during the 1991 war. A prominent painter and ceramist, al-Radi movingly conveys the perspective of an artist and a woman, haunted by double hostile forces: a dictatorial regime that does not brook the slightest dissent and a relentless superpower that has no consideration for the lives of innocent people on the ground. By contrast, Norman Schwarzkopf's autobiography, It Doesn't Take a Hero, gives a different depiction of the same events. As the general in charge of a formidable modern army, Schwarzkopf proudly narrates his smart strategies and military achievements. Contrasting these two autobiographical texts brings into sharp focus the subtle narrative of suffering civilians against the triumphalist discourse of the militarily victorious imperium. The analysis reveals the vacuity and inhumanity of transgressive war alibis, hell-bent on beating a third-world country back to the Stone Age. This asymmetrical rapport de force, both discursive and military, evokes the erstwhile pervasive patterns of colonialist hegemony over the colonised.View full textDownload full textKeywordsNuha al-Radi, Norman Schwarzkopf, Baghdad, Kuwait WarRelated var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "Taylor & Francis Online", services_compact: "citeulike,netvibes,twitter,technorati,delicious,linkedin,facebook,stumbleupon,digg,google,more", pubid: "ra-4dff56cd6bb1830b" }; Add to shortlist Link Permalink http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14484528.2012.712894