On Sunday The New York Times gave former Baghdad bureau chief John F. Burns a few column inches to give his take on where the war has taken us. Burns penned this article at the war’s outset which I’ve always considered to be an amazing piece of journalism. For Sunday’s article, Burns, who spent five years in Iraq, reflects on his position as a journalist covering the war; and on the larger meaning for both the U.S. and Iraq. As his opening line puts it (“Five years on, it seems positively surreal”), Burns seems in awe of the course the war has taken; and frustrated over miscalculations that occurred. He writes of watching the first U.S. air strikes from a Baghdad roof:

For an international view of the fifth anniversary, take a listen to four top BBC journalists who discuss what arose from the rubble of Saddam’s regime, and the wider impact on other Arab states. The introductory text to the radio documentary has this telling observation:

IAVA blogger Ray Kimball, an Army major and Iraq vet, reflects on leading his men through the opening days of the war and how he still thinks about the choices he made:

The LA Daily News provided this look at a group using the anniversary to protest the war as part of a larger, worldwide series of such events. While the protest was attended by celebrities, as well as Vietnam vet Ron Kovic (of ), the article offered a particularly telling moment: when two Iraq vets were noticed watching the protest, the reporter notes:

New Jersey’s Gloucester County Times at how the war has affected a wide spectrum of people: from veterans, to family, to a VA worker. Marine Richard J. Maxie Jr. told the paper:

-The back of his sign read, “My sacrifice was not in vain.”

-Several protesters walked up and greeted him, said he looked angry and offered him a hug - he declined - and asked how they could make him happy

-His response: “Go home.”

Angelo Romeo, a local VA director, told the paper his impressions of what the newest vets coming home face:

“They only see the bad things,” said Maxie said of the media’s portrayal of the war. “They don’t really know kids are going to school and the Iraqis can go into the streets and not have to watch over their shoulders all the time.

The Iraq war’s fifth anniversary isn’t the only Iraq anniversary occurring this week. It was 20 years ago when Saddam Hussein killed at last 5,000 Kurds in chemical bombing attacks.

The soldier had served as an explosives detonation expert.

“I’ve seen them in social situations with their friends from high school and college. There’s a bit of a disconnect.”

There’s sure to be much more Iraq war anniversary coverage through the week. Stay tuned.