How wars end: Iraq

Looted Ministry of Culture - April 2003 (Getty Images, theworld.org)

"Tell me how this ends," General David Petraeus said famously early on in the Iraqi conflict -- how the war in Iraq has played out.

In the spring of 2003 U.S. forces invaded Iraq and routed its army. Three weeks after the capture of Baghdad, President Bush stood on the deck of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln and declared victory.

President Bush: "My fellow Americans, major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and her allies have prevailed."

For a brief moment many Americans bought the idea, the war was over. But why didn't the war end with the fall of Baghdad? And why were we programmed to think it might?

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.

PRI's "The World" is a one-hour, weekday radio news magazine offering a mix of news, features, interviews, and music from around the globe. "The World" is a co-production of the BBC World Service, PRI and WGBH Boston.

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