Published to coincide with the twentieth anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq, Glad Tidings of Benevolence brings together Moises Saman’s photographs taken in Iraq during this period and the following years, with documents and texts relating to the war. Exploring the construction—through image and language—of competing narratives of the war, the book represents the culmination of Saman’s twenty years of work across Iraq.
‘My photographs are not intended to represent an objective account of the Iraq war against which to compare the texts. Rather, the book grapples with my own role and power as a narrator – particularly one with access to foreign publications – and the biases and limitations inevitably embedded in my work.’
Saman began working as a newspaper photographer in Iraq shortly before the invasion in 2003. He has covered the US occupation and withdrawal, displacement, human rights abuses, humanitarian crises, governance and ISIS. Rather than present a linear historical account of Iraq after Saddam Hussein, Saman aims to convey the cacophony of voices that have narrated the war.
In the book, photographs by Saman are presented alongside texts including quotes from political and military figures, lists of killed Iraqi civilians and US coalition military personnel, an edited log of military operations, handbooks for soldiers, redacted official transcripts and pop culture references that reflect a sinisterly ironic lexicon of war. The pairings of text and photograph provoke questions about narrative formation in war. Some pairings reveal a clash between Saman’s visual representation of the conflict and official discourse, while others provide unexpected intersections or bridges.
The title of the book, and subsequent chapter subtitles, are picked from the list of thousands of code names used by the US military to identify their operations in Iraq from 2003-2010.