In Iraq, the Bitter Legacy of War Still Lies Hidden Underground
Publisher: Foreign Policy
Author(s): Jack Losh
Date: 2021
Topics: Conflict Causes, Gender, Governance, Humanitarian Assistance, Livelihoods, Weapons, Waste, and Pollution
Countries: Iraq
Like the neck of a giraffe, a minesweeping vehicle extends a serrated bucket forward and dips its teeth into the blighted earth. It drags the dry soil backward, sifting, before harvesting a jerrycan and gently placing it on the edge of a field. This is no harmless piece of trash; the container holds 20 liters (or around 5 gallons) of explosives—enough firepower to kill multiple people and wreck an armored vehicle. Nor is it a rarity. All around, a vast field is filled with dozens of fluttering ribbons attached to small yellow posts, each one placed where another bomb once lay.