As one of many personal recollections shared with his audience, Shadid described the overwhelming emotion he felt as a witness to the toppling of the statue of Saddam Hussein on April 9, 2003 in Baghdad. Shadid recounted that amidst jubilant Iraqi citizens and tanks with American flags, his mind wandered to the reality that Baghdad —a city of tremendous cultural and historical significance in the Arab world — had fallen to a foreign army. The world had watched one country completely overrun another in a matter of weeks and now the fate of both had become intertwined. As a journalist, Shadid knew that being present at such a momentous event was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity but moreover, he perceived that he would be covering its repercussions the rest of his life.

Shadid’s book chronicles the increasingly tumultuous period following the fall of Baghdad and the Baathist regime. In writing Night Draws Near: Iraq’s People in the Shadow of America’s War, Shadid hoped to accomplish two things: to tell the stories of ordinary Iraqis caught in the middle of extraordinary circumstances and to detail the consequences that result when two estranged political cultures occupy the same space.

Shadid offered many anecdotes throughout his presentation, one of which was the story of Salem Kerbul. In late July of 2003, Salem’s son, Sabah, had been identified by residents of a remote hamlet as an informer for the US military. Salem denied the claims but to no effect. An ultimatum was given: either he kill his son or the villagers would resort to tribal justice and kill the rest of the Kerbul family in reprisal for a June US military operation that had killed four. During his subsequent interview with Salem, Shadid recalled that he could not bring himself to ask the most obvious question: had Salem killed his son? But Salem finally volunteered the information, saying, “I have the heart of a father, and he’s my son. Even the prophet Abraham didn’t have to kill his son. There was no other choice.”

Although Shadid shied away from making bold predictions, he offered comparably somber commentary in discussing the ongoing insurgency. He asserted that the violence is not diminishing and is probably growing in strength due to its decentralized character. He believes that the level of foreign involvement in direct fighting is vastly overstated and that the guerrilla war goes “well beyond [Abu Musab] al-Zarqawi.” Furthermore, Shadid contends that hostilities will continue, “as long as our military is in the country.” From his estimation, civil war may already be emerging with fractures coming less predictably along ethnic and sectarian lines and more among competing personalities and their militias.

Shadid posited that the aims of the insurgency have shifted. The insurgency has stopped trying to defeat the US militarily and instead creates a series of spectacles that contribute to the perception of anarchy. With these goals, each successive attack has to be more shocking than the last. To illustrate his point, Shadid reminded his audience that an attack killing 20 Iraqis would have been considered major news several months ago but has now sadly become commonplace.