Iraqi Blogger Writes of Harrowing Existence

Truthdig says

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The Washington Post ran a week’s worth of postings by a young, UK-raised Iraqi dentist who describes the unnerving experience of living “between the hammer of terrorists and the anvil of American, British and Iraqi security forces.”

(Also, check out his blog, Healing Iraq, with his bio.)

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BAGHDAD, Sunday, March 12 — A sudden whizzzzzz . . . KABOOM sent me flying from the couch where I was dozing off, watching TV.

“What was that?” my father asked from the hallway.

“Probably a mortar round,” I replied. “A close one.”

“Good. They’re lobbing mortars at us now. What’s next?” he said and went back to his bedroom.

It’s almost 9 p.m., a dangerous time to go outside. Neighborhood watch teams — young men brandishing AK-47s, pistols, RPGs and even sniper rifles — set up checkpoints around this time. Many were referred to as the “Mujahideen” or insurgents in the past. Now, they are considered defenders of our predominantly Sunni district against Shiite death squads and militias.

I tried to stay interested in the Steven Seagal action flick on TV, but my focus kept shifting to the occasional rumble of mortar shells outside. After a while I went upstairs to use the Internet.

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