The acclaimed journalist (and Truthdig contributor), who has spent the last three years in Iraq, explains how his street smarts, Arabic skills and Middle Eastern looks afforded him a view of the Iraqi insurgency almost unparalleled among Western journalists. Check out the Buzzflash interview.

BuzzFlash:

BuzzFlash: You, however, seemed particularly well-accepted. Was this due to your contacts? Due to the fact that you spoke Arabic relatively fluently? How did you get to that point where they accepted you and trusted you, and that you were going to tell a balanced story, which you do in this book.

Nir Rosen: It was mostly having the right friends, actually. I came with the right friends. I had the right friends from each neighborhood. Even today, if I have to go to a Sunni neighborhood in Baghdad, I will go with a Sunni interlocutor from that neighborhood. Likewise, if I?m dealing with Moqtada al-Sadr’s movement, I?ll go with somebody who is actually with his militia. You need an interlocutor. It doesn?t really matter what your ideas are in Iraq — it just matters who your friends are. You need somebody from the right tribe, from the right neighborhood, from the right sect. More and more, that’s what determines whether you can survive.

Link

Wait, before you go…

If you're reading this, you probably already know that non-profit, independent journalism is under threat worldwide. Independent news sites are overshadowed by larger heavily funded mainstream media that inundate us with hype and noise that barely scratch the surface.  We believe that our readers deserve to know the full story. Truthdig writers bravely dig beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that tells you what’s really happening and who’s rolling up their sleeves to do something about it.

Like you, we believe a well-informed public that doesn’t have blind faith in the status quo can help change the world. Your contribution of as little as $5 monthly or $35 annually will make you a groundbreaking member and lays the foundation of our work.

Support Truthdig
In this Article:
#buzzflash#insurgency#nir rosen