The war in Iraq has now lasted more than five years. "Tell me how this ends," General David Petraeus said famously early on in the conflict.

In her five-part series The World's Jeb Sharp is looking at how wars end. They don't end quite the way we imagine they do. And sometimes they don't end at all. She looks to the past for some clues.

Series editor: Patrick Cox
Online production: Michael Rass

Download the entire podcast (mp3) (1hr 4min)

Download the enhanced podcast (m4a)
(iTunes and Quicktime only) (1hr 4min)

Part One
For the launch of our series, The World's Lisa Mullins talked with Jeb Sharp about 'How wars end'. Listen to the interview and the introductory part:

download part one
transcript with pictures

Part Two
In part two, Jeb Sharp is looking at the American Civil War and what lessons can be drawn from the surrender at Appomattox and its aftermath.

download part two
transcript with pictures

Part Three
In part three, Jeb Sharp looks at World War I. Ten million soldiers died and whole empires disintegrated. At the end, the winners carved up the spoils. There are lessons in that ending, but not necessarily the ones we've been taught.

download part three
transcript with pictures

Part Four
The 1991 Gulf War unfolded almost without a hitch and unlike Vietnam, the ending seemed clean. It didn't take long for that image to unravel, though, as Jeb Sharp explains in part four of our series.

download part four
transcript with pictures

Part Five
The World's Jeb Sharp presents the last segment in the series, How Wars End, with a look at the end of the Bosnian War in 1995.

download part five
transcript with pictures

Your thoughts on this series

Related books