Sorry for the War chronicles the dissonance between perceptions of the post-9/11 wars in America, and the violence and upheaval of the wars as experienced by those trapped in the war zones. The photographs in Sorry for the War weave together the war in Iraq during the time of ISIS, the mass exodus of refugees to Europe, militarism, terrorism, nationalism, myth-making and propaganda.
This is van Agtmael’s fourth book about the United States and the world after 9/11 and reflects a nation’s struggle to reckon with the chaos unleashed in the fear and anger that followed the World Trade Center attacks. The photographs are disturbing, darkly humorous, contradictory, mysterious and damning, serving as both evidence and interpretation of a country gone adrift, with often disastrous consequences.
An extensive text, in English and Arabic, combines journalism and personal reflection into a thorough narrative to accompany the nonlinear, poetic sequencing of the images.