Iraq: Voices from Within

Five years ago today, the "shock and awe" bombardment was ending in Baghdad, and U.S. troopers were pouring over the border from Kuwait into Iraq.

They were not told to expect a five-year slog: longer, as Barack Obama now puts it, than World War I, longer than World War II, longer than the Civil War.

In this hour we'll go to Iraq. To check in on Marines right now, still, in Fallujah. To talk with Iraqis about the realities they face every day in a shattered country. To ask what they, and we, dare hope. And must do.

This hour, On Point: five years on, inside Iraq.Guests:

Sudarsan Raghavan, Baghdad bureau chief for The Washington Post.

Jamie Tarabay, national correspondent for NPR, she was Baghdad bureau chief from 2005 until December 2007 and has covered the war since 2003.

Ashraf al-Khalidi, a Baghdad-based researcher, he has worked with several international institutions and writes for the news website IraqSlogger.

Mahmoud Othman, independent Kurdish member of the Iraqi parliament.

Noha Agha, founder and president Nintu, LLC, a humanitarian and cultural assistance group in Iraq.