Hell Is Over

Michael J. Totten – one of the extraordinary independent journalists in the Middle East – has filed a new report on his blog, full of excellent photos like the one at right, detailing his recent observations in Anbar province, Iraq. It is one of the most compelling pieces I have read about the current situation in Iraq – if you have any interest at all in events over there, you should read this post. Here's a tiny teaser for you:

I saw so many pictures of crazed Iraqis wearing ski masks and carrying rocket launchers and Kalashnikovs before I went to Baghdad and Ramadi that I slowly started to think, against my better judgment, that such people are typical. I never once saw anyone like that. They are around, obviously, but they are not in any way typical.

These are the typical faces I saw in Iraq.

They are the ones I now think of when trying to figure out what the United States should do in Iraq. They are the ones who will have to suffer the consequences the longest.

Don't miss reading the whole thing – and while you're there, please hit his tip jar; he depends on contributions to keep up his fine work…