The military prism is an important way to view a war but not the only way. Written by a journalist, this book paints a picture of Iraq over the course of the war in snapshots, chapter by chapter. This book is difficult to read for the sheer truth it reveals in an almost painfully unembelished account of what has transpired in Iraq. It is a kind of raw exposure, experienced by the author and shared with the reader.
"In Afghanistan, the brutality and the humor went hand in hand; the knife with the tender flesh. There seemed no collapse of their fortunes in which the Afghans could not find some reason to laugh." Pg. 24
"Iraq was filled with people like Yacob. They weren't survivors as much as they were leftovers. The ruined byproducts of terrible times." Pg. 72
"There were always two conversations in Iraq, the one the Iraqis were having with the Americans and the one they were having among themselves. The one the Iraqis were having with us - that was positive and predictable and boring, and it made the Americans happy because it made them think they were winning. And the Iraqis kept it up because it kept the money flowing, or because it bought them a little peace. The conversation they were having with each other was what really mattered, of course. That conversation was the chatter of a whole other world, a parallel reality, which sometimes unfolded right next to the Americans, even right in front of them. And we almost never saw it." Pg. 115
"But there was nothing like facing death to feel it in the flesh. It was as if Omohundro wore a mask, and with that mask he gave everyone more courage than they knew they had. The trick was never showing fear." Pg. 191
"It was a joke among the marines posted there, 'the government center,' since there wasn't much of either. The center of the city was obliterated and the government had ceased to exist." Pg. 296 [referring to Ramadi]
"Whatever the motives of the people who expelled Hanoon, the effect on his own views seemed lasting and deep. His brian was turning. As he packed his belongings and prepared to leave his ancestral home, Hanoon said, not a single one of his Sunni neighbors stopped by to say goodbye. 'It's in their genes,' Hanoon said. 'It's a disease. They hate the Shiites. I don't think things will ever go back to normal between Shiites and Sunnis.'" Pg. 320
Book 75
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