I had a dream last night. It was the same one I’ve had since August 20, when I learned of Jim Foley’s death. A man in black holds a small knife in his left hand. He is too cowardly to show his face. But he holds up Jim’s face. For the world to see. I have been told that if one uses a small knife … Continue reading Death, dreams and dread
A few months ago, my friend and colleague Lateef Mungin died quite suddenly. This morning, more shocking news awaited me. CNN photojournalist Sarmad Qaseera passed away. He was 42. Here’s the thing. Like Lateef, Sarmad was always smiling, always cracking jokes. His joy in life was infectious. I never heard him get bitter like so many other journalists in the war zone. He came to … Continue reading Courage in journalism, Part II: RIP, Habibi
Honoring the courage and fortitude of James Foley today. Rest in peace. I had intended to write more about him but words are failing me now. So I am posting a few links for you. I hope you will think about how so many journalists put themselves in harm’s way so that you may know the truth about our sometimes vicious world. The Committee to … Continue reading Courage in journalism
Who are the Yezedis, the 40,000 people who are hiding in the Sinjar Mountains from the horror of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria militants? They are not Muslims. They are a people largely forgotten by the world. In 2007, I had the opportunity to spend time in Nineveh province in the towns and villages around the Sinjar Mountains. Here is a blog post … Continue reading Trouble for a forgotten people
I met Mike when sectarian strife exploded in Baghdad in 2006. That was not his real name, of course, but it was what he went by in his job as a translator for American soldiers. Mike and I spent several evenings chatting at a coffee shop on the vast Camp Liberty complex. He was a smart well-spoken man with Antonio Banderas looks. He told me about … Continue reading A Romeo and Juliet love story from Iraq
I fought off tears as I read Sunday’s New York Times. The news from Iraq was horrifying. A vicious civil war seems imminent as fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) point their guns toward Baghdad. They are men who make al-Qaeda look like nice guys. And the Taliban, wimps. They have taken over much of Nineveh province — Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, … Continue reading Remembering Ramadi as Iraq suffers again
Occasionally, I pick up my iPhone and am pleasantly surprised to see an incoming call from a soldier I met in Iraq. The other night, it was Mike Brown, who helped train Iraqi security forces for a year in Baghdad. He wanted nothing in general, nothing in particular. Just to say hello. His call was a good reminder, just ahead of Memorial Day. There’s … Continue reading Memorial Day is not National BBQ Day
We lost another amazing journalist today. Anja Niedringhaus, 48, an acclaimed photographer for the Associated Press, died instantly after an Afghan policeman opened fire while they were sitting in their car in eastern Afghanistan, the AP said. Correspondent Kathy Gannon was wounded and is in stable condition in hospital. “Anja and Kathy together have spent years in Afghanistan covering the conflict and the people there. Anja was … Continue reading Sad news from Afghanistan
I just read an excerpt from Peter Baker’s new book, “Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House. It’s being touted as the most comprehensive account of the Bush-Cheney years, at least until historical archives are opened to the public. What’s clear from the book is that Cheney was a major driver of the Iraq War. And a senior administration official is quoted … Continue reading Iraq's forgotten tragedy
It’s too bad “Midnight’s Children” was a bust at the box office. I’m thinking that Deepa Mehta was perhaps the wrong director to give us the celluloid depiction of Salman Rushdie’s terrific book, which won the Booker Prize in 1981. The protagonist and narrator of Rushdie’s story, Saleem Sinai, is born at the exact moment when India gained independence from Britain. The film, had it been … Continue reading The price of independence
