Baghdad: A Model City by Josh Rushing

Baghdad: A Model City by Josh Rushing

By Kaymir Stark

Josh Rushing is a former U.S. Marine captain with over 14 years of service who actively changed his weapon of choice. Rushing served as a spokesperson at Central Command in Doha, Qatar during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Unbeknownst to him, an independent film, Control Room, captured his efforts to communicate the American message on Al Jazeera Arabic. The documentary debuted at the sundance Film Festival in 2004. Now a days Josh is armed with a camera with infinite ammo (that being bytes) to shoot things up for Al Jazeera.

Baghdad - A model City
Baghdad – A model City
Baghdad - A model City
Baghdad – A model City

Josh: “Since the US invasion of Iraq eight years ago, I’ve been to Baghdad eight times. I first arrived in the city as a US Marine in April 2003 with the invading forces. I’ve returned as a journalist on seven more occasions. I’ve witnessed Baghdad morph and contort like no other city: from the open, uncertain, early days of the occupation to groundzero of a bloody civil war to a labyrinth of cement T-walls that give inhabitants the feeling of rats in a maze never finding the cheese.”

Baghdad - A model City
Baghdad – A model City
Baghdad - A model City
Baghdad – A model City

This series of aerial, tilt-shift photos offers a glimpse of Baghdad’s unbounded future. A hope for a new Baghdad: a model city known for its own treasures instead of the violence unleashed by the course of recent history. As the US military with draws, this scarred city is tentatively blossoming anew. Tourist attractions like the 180-foot-high ferris wheel ask visitors to see Baghdad as something other than a battleground and recognize that the last eight years are but a single grain joining three thousand years of sand in the base of Baghdad’s ancient hourglass.

Baghdad - A model City
Baghdad – A model City

We’re going to shoot Josh some more in-depth questions about his work. So be on the lookout for the coming interview here on CFYE!

Baghdad - A model City
Baghdad – A model City
Baghdad - A model City
Baghdad – A model City

About Josh Rushing

Presenter: @AJFaultLines /Author:Mission AlJazeera: Seek the Truth, Build a Bridge, Change the World/tumblr,speaker,photog/fulltime familymanView profile