In Iraq, some scars of the US-led invasion remain hidden, even as the 20th anniversary is marked this week. The US military for years disposed of waste in burn pits: wide swathes of land, constantly smoking. Some were the size of a football field. In them were plastics, electronics, and military and medical waste. The environmental impacts of the invasion – including those burn pits – continue to plague Iraqis to this day. After years of lobbying, the US government approved legislation to address the health impacts on US soldiers, but there has been no discussion of compensation for the Iraqi civilians.

In this episode: 

• Kali Rubaii (@KaliRubaii), assistant professor of anthropology at Purdue University

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Negin Owliaei and Amy Walters with Chloe K. Li and our host, Malika Bilal. Miranda Lin fact-checked this episode.

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Adam Abou-Gad and Munera Al Dosari are our engagement producers. 

Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer, and Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio.

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