The Lawfare Podcast: James Verini and Dan Gabriel on the Battle for Mosul

Jen Patja, Scott R. Anderson, James Verini, Daniel Gabriel
Tuesday, October 22, 2019, 12:00 PM

In 2014, the precipitous fall of the ancient city of Mosul signaled the sudden rise to power of the Islamic State, a group that would soon declare a new caliphate from Mosul's Great Mosque. Two years later, Mosul served as one of the group's last major enclaves in Iraq and became the site of grinding, brutal urban warfare as Iraqi forces sought to reclaim control, block by block.

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In 2014, the precipitous fall of the ancient city of Mosul signaled the sudden rise to power of the Islamic State, a group that would soon declare a new caliphate from Mosul's Great Mosque. Two years later, Mosul served as one of the group's last major enclaves in Iraq and became the site of grinding, brutal urban warfare as Iraqi forces sought to reclaim control, block by block.


Last week, Lawfare senior editor Scott R. Anderson sat down with two journalists who have produced new works documenting the battle for Mosul: veteran war correspondent James Verini, who is the author of the new book "They Will Have to Die Now," and former CIA official Dan Gabriel, who recently directed the documentary film entitled Mosul. They discussed the pivotal role the city has played in recent Iraqi history—and what the struggle over it may be able to tell us about the future of the country and region.



Jen Patja is the editor and producer of the Lawfare Podcast and Rational Security. She currently serves as the Co-Executive Director of Virginia Civics, a nonprofit organization that empowers the next generation of leaders in Virginia by promoting constitutional literacy, critical thinking, and civic engagement. She is the former Deputy Director of the Robert H. Smith Center for the Constitution at James Madison's Montpelier and has been a freelance editor for over 20 years.
Scott R. Anderson is a fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution and a Senior Fellow in the National Security Law Program at Columbia Law School. He previously served as an Attorney-Adviser in the Office of the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State and as the legal advisor for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq.
James Verini is a veteran war correspondent and the author of the book "They Will Have to Die Now."
Daniel Gabriel is the Director and Executive Producer of MOSUL. His knowledge and deep understanding of the region and its politics began while he was working as a CIA counterterrorism officer in 2003, eventually completing six tours to Iraq and Afghanistan in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. After his time with the CIA, Dan’s interest in filmmaking led him to complete graduate work in Filmmaking at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts (2013), and in Producing (2014) at UCLA's School of Theater, Film and Television. This is his debut film.

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