My latest story, in The New York Times Magazine, profiles Moqtadah al-Sadr, who wants Iraq governed by Islamic law. First he has to outsmart his rivals, outmaneuver the Americans and get Iraq’s millions of ...
Category: Blog
Baghdad Dispatch
My latest story, in The New Republic, about Shia fundamentalism in Iraq, is posted here.
Blogging Again, Lightly
It’s been a while since I lasted posted because I have been covering the war in Iraq. Internet access has been limited, and blogging will remain infrequent until I return to the United States. My stories on the war (and related issues) are posted on the “Magazine Articles” page of ...
To Torture or Not to Torture?
If a captured terrorist does not wish to talk about attacks that his colleagues are planning, should he be made to talk? If so, how? That’s the subject of my latest story, in the Week in Review section of The New ...
“Magical realism, Middle East-style”
From the cover story in this weekend’s New York Times Magazine: “War seldom creates democracy; according to a recent article in The Christian Science Monitor, of the 18 regime changes forced by the United States in the ...
The Not-So-Quiet Americans
President Bush believes that getting rid of Saddam Hussein will bring democracy to the Middle East. “A new regime in Iraq would serve as a dramatic and inspiring example of freedom for other nations in the region,” he ...
Gone
BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro (AP)–Lawmakers formally abolished Yugoslavia on Tuesday and replaced it with a loose union of its remaining two republics, Serbia and Montenegro, marking the final demise of the troubled Balkan federation.
Photos from the Front
Because we live in a time of war, one of the best websites of our times is The Digital Journalist. It is a monthly magazine, published only on the web, that features the best war photography of the day and of the past. The current issue ...
When Al Qaeda Calls
On an April day in London last year, Yosri Fouda’s cellphone rang, and a stranger introduced himself by saying, “I’m a viewer of your show.” He claimed to be in a position to “provide something top secret” and asked for Fouda’s fax number. Then he hung up.
For ...
Moonlighting in Iraq
From The Los Angeles Times: “If past is precedent, argues Benjamin Works, executive director of the Strategic Issues Research Institute, a military think tank in Arlington, Va., the phases of the moon would ...