I’d worried about the “girl blogger” at Baghdad Burning who hadn’t posted since May 30. But she’s back with an update on everything from doing laundry with iffy water and electricity to Iraqis stuck in prison without cause. “Both Sunni and Shia clerics who [oppose] the occupation are particularly prone to attacks by Liwa il Theeb or the special Iraqi forces Wolf Brigade,” she writes. “They are often tortured during interrogation and some of them are found dead.”

What people find particularly frustrating is … that while Baghdad seems to be falling apart … with roads broken and pitted, buildings blasted and burnt out and residential areas often swimming in sewage, the Green Zone is flourishing. …


The price of building materials has gone up unbelievably, in spite of the fact that major reconstruction has not yet begun. …


The Green Zone is a source of consternation and aggravation for the typical Iraqi. It makes us anxious because it symbolises the heart of the occupation and if fortifications and barricades are any indicator – the occupation [will] be here for a long time. …


Oh, just go and read it all for yourself. She has a wonderful way of describing both mundane and historic experiences with grace and clarity. As she says, “… I’ll meet you ’round the bend my friend, where hearts can heal and souls can mend…“