ISRAEL: 'A barrel of explosives' in Acre

Israeli police remained on high alert Friday evening in the northern coastal city of Acre after a third day of clashes between Arab and Jewish residents.

Tensions between the two sides boiled over Wednesday night during the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, when most of Israel shuts down to all vehicle traffic and even secular Jews avoid driving to keep from offending the more devout.

The clashes began when an Arab resident of the mixed city was accosted by Jewish youths after driving into a predominantly Jewish neighborhood. According to local media reports, neighborhood residents claim Tawfik Jamal provoked them by blaring his car stereo -- a charge Jamal denies.

"I knew it was Yom Kippur; we have been living amongst Jews for many years, so I thought I'd drive slowly without turning on the radio,” said Jamal, who added that he was coming to pick up his daughter from a friend's home.

Jamal reportedly had to be rescued from rock-throwing youths by Israel police. As news of the attack spread, a group of Arab teens arrived on the scene -- setting off a mushrooming cycle of retaliation that left local police scrambling to maintain order.

Remarkably there were no serious injuries from three nights of on-and-off clashes. Dozens of storefronts and car windows were smashed and the police made about 30 arrests. But the real damage may be psychological -- reopening old resentments between Israeli Jews and the country's Arab minority.

Prime Minister-designate Tzipi Livni rushed to the scene Friday and appealed to both sides to “move forward to improve the relations between Jews and Arabs."

Right-wing politicians also moved in quickly; parliamentarian Zvi Hendel of the fringe Tkuma party charged that the conflict was a pre-planned Arab ambush and said, “We must not let this pass without a response.”

Leftist parliamentarian Yossi Beillin said the clashes were proof that little has been done to improve  Arab-Jewish relations inside Israel since the 2000 riots in which police killed 12 Arab citizens of Israel. "We are sitting on a barrel of explosives, and every time we are surprised anew when the tension explodes, rather than making a genuine effort to stop it," Beilin said.

One immediate victim of the Acre clashes: The city's annual theater festival, scheduled for next week, has been postponed indefinitely.

Local police commanders pledged that they could maintain order after flooding the city with 700 extra officers. But Acre Mayor Shimon Lankry said it would be "irresponsible" to hold the festival given "the sense of insult, anger and pain" felt by residents on both sides.

--Ashraf Khalil in Jerusalem

Iraq: Turkey's fight with Kurdish separatists

SULAYMANIYA -- A separatist Kurdish leader sounded defiant this week after Turkey's parliament authorized more attacks against his group in northern Iraq. "We are ready and our forces are ready. We are not afraid of them. If they want to attack Iraq's Kurdistan, then the Middle East will turn into a fire ball,” Bozan Takeen, a senior leader from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), warned on Thursday by phone from his hideout in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Takeen, who is based in Iraqi Kurdistan’s Qandil mountains, which border Turkey and Iran, was speaking after Turkey’s parliament on Wednesday extended for one more year Ankara’s right to carry out military raids against the PKK in Iraqi Kurdistan. Last fall, Turkey launched a campaign to root out PKK bases in Iraqi Kurdistan after accusing Iraqi officials of not doing enough to crack down on the separatists, who used the safety of Iraq to plot attacks against Turkish troops across the border.

“Turkey is continuously attacking our positions inside Turkey, and pursuing Kurds who belong to the movement,” Takeen said. “We are seeing nothing from Turkey. They want to wipe out Kurds from the map and that won't happen."

Last week, a PKK raid on a Turkish military base claimed the lives of at least 15 soldiers.

The PKK took up arms in 1984 against Ankara over their demands for Kurdish autonomy. The conflict has claimed up to 40,000 lives, most of them Kurds.

-- Asso Ahmed

Photo: PKK fighters Credit: Asso Ahmed

ISRAEL: A day without cars

Here's a few spare photos from several hours spent riding my bicycle around Jerusalem on Yom Kippur.

The annual holy day completely transforms the country. All stores shut down, and vehicle traffic is banned in most places.

But in predominantly Arab East Jerusalem, it was business as usual.

Stores remained open, and cars moved around normally.

SYRIA: 'Hundreds,' not 'thousands,' of troops on Lebanon border

For weeks, Lebanese politicians have been warning that thousands of Syrian troops have amassed on the border of the two countries, perched to possibly invade northern Lebanon.

But a Syrian source close to the government on Wednesday disputed that claim, saying that there were only a few hundred troops deployed to the region, and their purpose was solely to interdict smuggling.

The source, who is close to the government and spoke to the Los Angeles Times, said the reinforcements have "no other intention" than controlling the border.

He described the Lebanese media reports that Syria had deployed "10,000 soldiers" as "strange and exaggerated."

The reports triggered concerns about a possible escalation of tensions between the two countries, especially after bombings in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli and the Syrian capital Damascus that left 24 people dead. Syrians hinted that Islamist groups based in Lebanon could have been behind the attacks.

IRAQ: U.S. soldiers save a dying Iraqi policeman

This is the story of a high-ranking Iraqi police officer who was recently shot seven times outside his home in the Hurriya neighborhood of Baghdad.

He was saved by American soldiers and doctors. Because of danger to his family, the officer asked to be identified only as Sajad. These are his words:

"My wife went to see who was knocking at the door. She does that as a precaution because there might be a bad guy there. Our neighborhood is not completely safe. There are  bad elements who might wish to hurt a senior police officer.

" 'Who’s there?' my wife asked.

" 'Me,' came the reply.

"It was a boy who answered her. She knew him from his voice, she had talked to him before, so she felt safe. She opened the door and she saw a 16-year-old boy standing there. He asked to talk to her husband, and she said, 'He is breaking his fast, come another time.'

"The boy insisted. I went to the door. My 6-year-old daughter was with me; she was following me. When I went outside the house, more than five young men came from two sides holding pistols.

ISRAEL: Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, begins this evening. The holiest day of the Jewish calendar is time for reflection, seeking forgiveness for sins against god and no less important, fellow man.

Most will fast and spend the day in synagogues in prayer, while others will do their soul-searching in their own way. 63% Jewish Israelis will fast on the day that is becoming one of the last communal, consensual elements of Israeli Judaism for many who do not practice other aspects of religion in daily life.

Beyond the religious importance, there is a national dimension to Yom Kippur too. It will forever be the anniversary of war that that caught Israel by surprise and most Israelis in the synagogues in 1973.

Since then, the holy day has taken on an additional meaning, making concepts of accountability and betterment meaningful to Israelis on a collective, national level.

The thick newspapers -- that help millions get through the fast lasting more than 24 hours -- offer interesting stories on the war every year.

ISRAEL: Yallah, food fight!

More on the previous post on the falafel wars:

Old traditions are going new age everywhere, and nations, regions or just traditional craftsmen are scrambling to copyright their culture and cuisine. Parmigiano Reggiano is a legally patented trademark, champagne must come from Champagne itself and only Greece can market Feta cheese under that name.

The European Union law for protecting regional food names has an elaborate mechanism that classifies products as PDO (protected designation of origin), PGI (protected geographical indication) and TSG (traditional specialty guaranteed). Dozens of producers submit requests for protecting their intellectual property rights every year, from the native Shetland organic wool to Cornish sardines that are currently under review.

Israel has a love-hate relationship with Arab countries. The hate part is self-explanatory. The love part involves the food.

LEBANON: Launching a falafel war against Israel

It sounds like satire, a tall tale meant to illustrate the downright pettiness of the Middle East's ongoing rivalries and resentments.

But apparently, it's totally serious.

According to a report by the Deutsche Presse Agentur, Germany's news agency, a Lebanese trade union is planning to sue Israel for claiming that the Jewish state has propriety over traditional Arab cuisine such as falafel, tabbouleh and hummus, which Lebanese consider their own.

The president of the Association of Lebanese Industrialists, Fady Abboud, has apparently said he's preparing a lawsuit in international courts against Israel for "taking the identity of some Lebanese" meals, according to the report, which was picked up by the Israeli media, including Haaretz:

"In a way the Jewish state is trying to claim ownership of traditional Lebanese delicacies such as falafel, tabbouleh and hummus [costing Lebanese] tens of millions of dollars annually. ... The Israelis are marketing our main food dishes as if they were Israeli dishes."

He said his union is trying to register Lebanese foods and ingredients with the government in Beirut "so it can appeal to the international courts against Israel," Abboud said.

ISRAEL: The Obama Jewish debate heats up

Viewers of one of Israel's nightly news programs were treated to an interesting sight Sunday evening.

There was comedian Sarah Silverman, in her full R-rated glory, announcing "If Barack Obama doesn't become the next president of the United States, I'm going to blame the Jews."

Silverman's Internet video appeals to leery Jewish voters to rally behind Obama. It also calls for young American Jews to perform "The Great Schlep" to Florida to encourage (with blackmail if necessary)  their grandparents to do the same.

Right-wing Jewish groups quickly fired launched a counter-campaign in the form of venerable comedian Jackie Mason. Within a day, the Republican Jewish Coalition posted a video of Mason pronouncing Silverman "a sick yenta" and encouraging Jewish voters to ignore her and vote their conscience.

This intra-Jewish back and forth has naturally drawn lots of attention in Israel, which in addition to being heavily invested in U.S. foreign policy is also home to an estimated 150,000 American citizens.

With anxiety over Iranian nuclear ambitions a daily issue here, McCain might expect to appeal to many of those voters with his tougher stance on negotiations with Tehran.

But the Jews for Obama campaign also has a few roots in Israel. Two weeks ago, a group called Israelis for Obama posted their own YouTube video. Now a new video is making the rounds from the pro-Obama Jewish Council for Education and Research -- the same group that's sponsoring The Great Schlep campaign.

According to Haaretz newspaper, the ad will feature comments by several Israeli politicians and former security officials. However, the newspaper also reports that two of those officials have objected that their comments were taken out of context and said they didn't know they were being filmed for a pro-Obama ad. 

— Ashraf Khalil in Jerusalem

Obama and McCain photos courtesy of U.S. Congress

Silverman photo courtesy of Normal Bob Smith via Wikimedia Commons

IRAQ: Marines, politicians fight to bring widow to US

Pressure from the Marine Corps and a U.S. senator has overcome bureaucratic opposition in the State Department to allowing the Japanese widow of a Marine killed in Iraq to enter the U.S. to have their baby, the Marine Corps Times reported Monday.

Hotaru Nakama Ferschke, 25, the widow of Sgt. Michael Ferschke Jr., was initially denied a visa because the couple had been married less than two years, the newspaper reported. Ferschke was killed Aug. 18 as Marines stormed an insurgent hide-out.

The couple had married, by proxy, after he deployed to Iraq with the Okinawa-based 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion.

IRAQ: A disagreement over the Eid feast

Sunni and Shiite Muslims in Iraq rarely agree on the exact sighting of the crescent moon that marks the beginning of Eid.

But this year even Shiites couldn’t agree among themselves on the start of the three-day holy feast that ends the fasting month of Ramadan.

In many Shiite families, some broke their fasts, others did not, making for strained and confused households.

For years, the Eid was set by Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani and other religious leaders who preside over the shrine at Najaf.

But these days, the Shiites who follow the guidance of other religious leaders celebrated the feast a day earlier than Sistani. They marked it on Wednesday, and Sistani followers on Thursday.

Shiites have become quite stubborn about the question. At least one man chased his wife through the house, trying to make her break her fast. She refused for an hour, then relented. She was angry at him for the rest of the day.

IRAQ: Troops return to California with good news

Marines are returning to Camp Pendleton as major responsibility for the U.S. mission in Anbar province shifts to Marine units from other bases. The process will take several months.

On Saturday night, 170-plus Marines and sailors from the 1st Intelligence Battalion, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force returned after a seven-month deployment to Fallouja and other farflung outposts in the sprawling province.

The troops came home to a joyous welcome from family members. It was a night for good news: the troops are confident that the U.S. is winning the war. And more importantly, the battalion did not have a single fatality or serious injury.

IRAQ: Hotel California in Baghdad

By Saif Rasheed in Baghdad

As a tradition during the feast of Eid, my family used to visit the homes of relatives and relax amid the wide gardens at the social Hunting Club in Baghdad's Mansour district.

Then came the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, and many of my relatives fled the country.

These days, with fewer family members to visit, we find ourselves spending more time at the Hunting Club. It is protected from gunfire, serves alcohol and steers conversations away from sectarian politics. 

The Hunting Club is different from what it was just a year or two ago. Security is better in Iraq.

IRAN: Anti-American axis tightens business and military ties

 

Talk about provocative.

Not only did Venezuela's foreign minister reiterate today that Russia and his nation would conduct joint war games in Caribbean waters just a few hundred miles from America's shores later this year, he also chose an interesting venue to emphasize the news, just as Russian ships entered the Atlantic Ocean: the Islamic Republic of Iran, where he was hobnobbing with top Iranian officials.

At a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki today, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro told reporters that in November and December 2008, a contingent of the Russian fleet will come to Venezuelan waters to conduct war exercises.

He also said that Iran and Venezuela were tightening bilateral relations "on a daily basis" in order to become role models for other developing countries (and, presumably, any country with an ax to grind against the U.S.).

SYRIA: Al Qaeda mastermind said to be captured

An intriguing morsel about the mysterious leader of a ferocious militant group has been floating around the Lebanese and Syrian media this weekend.

According to a report in the Arab-language Syrian newspaper Al Liwaa, Syrian officials captured the leader of the Al Qaeda-linked militant group Fatah al Islam two months ago in Syria.

The report, summarized in English here, says that Shaker Abssi, a former Libyan air force pilot turned radical Islamist, was captured in the poor Meliha district of southern Damascus and hauled off to prison.

Of Palestinian descent, Abssi, now about 53 years old, has led a storied life.

LEBANON: Israelis say spy chief killed Hezbollah commander Mughniyah

A panel of experts assembled by Israel's most powerful television channel honored Israeli Mossad chief Meir Dagan as the nation's "man of the year" for, among other things, killing Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyah in the Syrian capital in February, according to a recent report in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

Up until now, Israel has publicly refused to acknowledge any role in the car bomb blast that killed Mughniyah, who was suspected of masterminding attacks on Israeli targets around the world and was believed to have been the brains behind the Hezbollah militia's surprise performance in the 2006 war with Israel.

Many in Syria and Lebanon suspect the Jewish state's security services had a hand in the assassination.

IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN: In Fisher House, 'Hope and solace' for families of wounded

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have created a kind of building boom as the Fisher House Foundation and its financial partners build facilities across the country to accommodate families of wounded military personnel who are undergoing medical treatment.

In 2006, the foundation opened a house (above) near the Veterans Affairs Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center in Palo Alto. In a few weeks a Fisher House will open in Dallas, and a few months later one will open adjacent to the VA hospital in West Los Angeles.

Projects for 2008, according to the foundation's website, www.fisherhouse.org, include houses in West Roxbury, Mass.; Fort Bragg, N.C.; Camp Lejeune, N.C.; Elgin Air Force Base, Fla.; and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. Begun in 1991, the foundation's goal is to provide free accommodations for family members as military personnel receive medical treatment.

On Friday, military personnel and foundation officials gathered at the Naval Medical Center San Diego for the grand opening of the 41st Fisher House, the second at the medical center. The Navy will provide maintenance and management of the 8,000-square-foot, 12-suite house.

ISRAEL: Coalition games

New Kadima Party leader Tzipi Livni continues to shuttle back and forth among her fellow Israeli politicians seeking to build a governing coalition and assume the mantle of Prime Minister.

On Wednesday night, she met once again with Labor Party chief Ehud Barak.

Livni has about a month left to to pull things together, and negotiations have proceeded at a leisurely pace so far thanks to the interruption of a spate of Jewish Holidays; Rosh Hashana just ended and Yom Kippur comes next week.

Now you can put yourself in Livni's shoes, thanks to the build-your-own coalition game  on the website of  Israel's Haaretz daily newspaper.

EGYPT: A dissident voice within the ranks of the Muslim Brotherhood

 

Driven by a desire to correct misconceptions about the Muslim Brotherhood, Ibrahim Houdaiby, a 25-year-old activist with Egypt’s largest Islamic organization, tapped into the blogsphere almost two years ago. Yet, this is not to assume that his job is restrictively doing public relations for the brotherhood. On the contrary, Houdaiby, along with other Muslim Brotherhood bloggers, has emerged as a critical voice of the group’s conservatism and political shortsightedness.

“This is a very critical moment for the Muslim Brotherhood. The group is going through a new phase as the old leaders are aging,” said Houdaiby, the grandson of the group’s former supreme Guide Ma’moun Houdaiby. “Inside the group, there is a different generation that expresses itself through blogs and seeks to play an active role in changing society.”

“Blogging has paved the way for several positive things inside the group. I think the response to this self-criticism proved and still proves that this is not being widely accepted within the group. Being part of the Egyptian society, the Muslim Brotherhood has the same illnesses of the society including the low level of tolerance.”

The young Islamist, a graduate of the American University in Cairo, is also concerned about building bridges with the West. His fluency in English allows him to promote his opinion pieces in Western publications such as the British Guardian, Common Grounds and the World Politics Review. In less than six months, he attended two cross-cultural conferences in the U.S. that discussed the nature and future of Islamism in the region.

IRAQ: Hawaii politicians call for Medal of Honor for Sgt. Peralta

The congressional delegation from Hawaii has joined several Southern California representatives and a Latino veterans group in calling for President Bush to overrule his secretary of Defense and award the Medal of Honor posthumously to Marine Sgt. Rafael Peralta.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates turned down the Marine Corps' recommendation for Peralta amid contradictory evidence about whether he was already clinically dead when an insurgent hurled a grenade at Marines during the fight for Fallouja in November 2004.

Marines who were there insist Peralta smothered the grenade, saving their lives. But faced with a medical opinion that a friendly-fire gunshot seconds earlier was probably instantly fatal to Peralta, Gates instead approved the Navy Cross, the second highest award for Marines.

In a letter to President Bush, Hawaii's two senators and two House members ask for a reconsideration "unless a strong case can be made that demonstrates his [Peralta's] actions were definitely unintentional."

LEBANON: Will Syria invade or stay put?

Leaders of Lebanon's American-backed March 14 coalition have publicly voiced fears that Syria is planning to launch an invasion of their country on the pretext of clamping down on Islamic extremists based in the northern seaside city of Tripoli.

Security officials in Lebanon and Syria have accused such militant groups of responsibility for a pair of attacks in Tripoli and Damascus that have killed at least 24 people over the last week. Syrian President Bashar Assad has complained that northern Lebanon has become a hotbed for extreme Islamic groups.

The attacks followed Syria's decision to amass what some describe as thousands of troops along the Lebanese frontier. Damascus says it was to interdict smuggling. But former President Amin Gemayel, leader of the Christian Ketayeb movement said the troop deployment was “not innocent." 

Meanwhile, Saad Hariri, leader of the Sunni Future movement, accused Damascus of being responsible for the violence. He accused Syria of “infiltrating extremists to north Lebanon to carry out terrorist attacks targeting the Lebanese army and civilians."

Samir Geagea, leader of the Christian Lebanese Forces movement, went even further, saying that Assad was laying the groundwork for a return to Lebanon, which his military was forced to leave after a prolonged occupation ended in 2005.

In a television interview, he said Assad's charge that north Lebanon poses a threat to Syria's security is aimed at "setting the atmosphere for Syrian intervention in Lebanon."

BABYLON & BEYOND: One year anniversary!

Happy birthday to us! 

Today marks the one-year anniversary of Babylon & Beyond, the Los Angeles Times' Middle East blog.

When we first started the blog, we weren't sure what Babylon would end up being.

The blog was unique. Times correspondents in Baghdad, Jerusalem, Cairo, Beirut and Tehran and even the U.S. would write about people and events in the Middle East that don't get much coverage in the newspapers. They would put it all into one forum.

In the end, it would concentrate on tensions between the West and Islam, between secular aspirations and the call of religion, as well as nuclear proliferation, terrorism, human rights and the war in Iraq.

In less than a year, Babylon joined the ranks of the top 5,000 blogs in the world, according to Technorati, the blog search engine and ranking service.

Babylon has been cited on blogs run by media outlets ranging from the Huffington Post to the Hollywood Reporter, from Wired to Foreign Policy, as well as National Public Radio.

It's been a praised as an "excellent" blog by Susan MacDougall, a Middle East expert at the Foreign Policy Association, a New York think tank.

And even erstwhile critics praise it for covering "myriad topics that rarely receive any coverage" and "taking notice" of controversial events that others ignore.

It's even been gently lampooned (at right) by a website making fun of the Los Angeles Times.

We've tried to increase our use of original video and photos. We've also built a blog roll that's not just an afterthought, but a regularly updated compendium of some of the best sources of commentary and news from and about the Middle East.

We've received thousands of comments from you, our readers, and always want more. Please keep posting your thoughts and reactions to the blog posts, and send along any ideas for improving the blog, what you'd like to see less of or more, to latimesmiddleeast@gmail.com.

— The reporters and editors of Babylon & Beyond

IRAQ: Court-martial is told of bloody Fallouja battle

A pretrial hearing Wednesday at Camp Pendleton got a brief reminder of the bloody nature of the Marines' battle with insurgents in Fallouja in November 2004.

Defense attorneys for Sgt. Ryan Weemer want to be able to call Sgt.  Maj. Brad Kasal as a character witness during the court-martial. Weemer is charged with murder for allegedly killing a prisoner Nov. 9 in the first hours of the battle.

Kasal was not with Weemer that day, but the two were among the Marines three days later who fought what has become known as the battle of Hell House.

Kasal was wounded by seven AK-47 rounds and 40 pieces of hot shrapnel and later was awarded the Navy Cross for saving the lives of Marines despite his grievous injuries. Weemer was wounded three times and also lauded for bravery.

When he was asked to describe how vicious the fighting was, Kasal said the battle in and around the house went on for two hours. Finally the U.S. called in an airstrike to reduce the house to rubble.

Still, Kasal said, Marines spotted an insurgent sticking his arm out of the rubble, preparing to hurl a grenade.

"That was the type of enemy and the type of battle it was," Kasal said.

Although his time with Weemer was brief, Kasal is confident that he knows him, he said. "You can tell more about a man in five minutes in combat than you can during two years in peacetime."

For an account of the legal wrangling between prosecutors and defense attorneys at the hearing, read this.

-- Tony Perry at Camp Pendleton

Photo: Then-1st Sgt. Brad Kasal, center, being helped out of Hell House. Credit: Lucian M. Read

WEST BANK: Fireworks after the feast?

Things have been quiet on the Palestinian end lately, thanks to Ramadan.

The Muslim holy month of fasting usually means shorter days, lower energy levels, lots of cheap plastic lanterns and a host of nightly social obligations. As a result, most serious  business  simply gets pushed until after the Eid al Fitr celebration.

The Eid started Tuesday, and many are predicting that events will begin to ramp up on the Palestinian end soon after. But just what direction those events will go depends on whom you ask.

Egypt plans to resume its on-and-off efforts to bring the feuding Palestinian factions together. A delegation from the Islamic group Hamas, which defeated its rival Fatah faction in January 2006 parliamentary elections, will travel to Cairo on Oct. 8 for talks expected to continue through the month.

Hamas and Fatah coexisted for several months in a unity government that collapsed last summer, leaving Hamas running a pariah ministate in the Gaza Strip and Fatah controlling the West Bank and Palestinian Authority with U.S. and Israeli backing.

IRAQ: A feast, a sheep, a bomb

Dust blew out of the desert and into Baghdad. It whirled around the sheep standing on a corner, eating grass, waiting to be sold. A man arrived in a small truck. He got out and waded into the sheep, pulling at their wool, feeling their sides, lifting their front legs and checking their bellies. It looked like he was dancing with them.

He chose one and hauled it away from the others. The sheep fought. The man pushed it aside, spotting a fatter one hiding in the herd. He carried it to the back of his truck, hooves clattering metal, the door slamming shut. The man paid for the sheep. He smiled. It was the eve of the Eid for Shiite Muslims in Iraq -- the end of 30 days' fasting.

It seemed normal. A man went to the market to buy his family's feast. He praised God. But he drove home through Army checkpoints, blast walls and barbed wire. And news that, although Iraq's casualties are dropping, some people would not live to break their fast -- a car bomb in the city of Balad 80 kilometers north of Baghdad exploded near a shrine, killing three and wounding 30.

Jeffrey Fleishman in Baghdad

An Iraqi boy with his sheep. Associated Press