http://www.cjr.org/issues/2004/2/beckerman-iraq.asp This, reinforcing what John and Omar have written, from the same article in CJR: Accepting the Contradictions Anthony Shadid, The Washington Post Last August, Anthony Shadid of The Washington Post spent a day on Mutanabi Street, a narrow alleyway of bookstores and shops in old Baghdad. Because he is an Arabic speaker (his grandparents were born in Lebanon), Shadid says, Iraqis tend to be more comfortable in his presence. â??Gaining trust or gaining personal access and confidence is much harderâ?? than in other places he has reported from, Shadid says, and so his appearance and ability to get along without a translator allow him to get in close. On that summer day on Mutanabi Street, he was able to hear the debates among a group of lounging Iraqi men. One of them, Mohammed Hayawi, a bookstore owner, turned to his friends and said, â??I challenge anyone to say what has happened, whatâ??s happening now, and what will happen in the future.â?? This is how Shadid tries to understand Iraqis. He doesnâ??t force an answer. â?? Anybody who says they know how Iraqis feel is talking bullshit,â?? says Shadid. â?? You are going to find somebody who is going to express contradictory sentiments in the same conversation, at the same moment.â?? Shadid believes the best way to deal with this problem is not to fight it. On Mutanabi Street, when a stationery store owner, Amran Kadhim, challenged his friend Adel Jannabi on his critiques of the American occupation, Shadid printed the exchange. â??The Americans are doing well,â?? said Kadhim. â??Theyâ??re working slowly but theyâ??re doing well. If there were no Americans here, people would end up killing each other.â?? Jannabi countered, â??No, no, my friend. There should still be much more progress.â?? â??Why do we blame the Americans?â?? Khadim shot back. Shadidâ??s Arabic allows him to understand the small talk, the intonation, the turn of phrase. But he also knows that the nature of the sentiment is complex, and he says the best way to capture this is to lay it all out. â??In your interviews with Iraqis you are going to be thrown into a situation where thereâ??s chaos; itâ??s confusing; everything is all out there,â?? Shadid says. â??And to pin down, nail down this one sentiment of what Iraqis feel is impossible. Iâ??m sure a majority is grateful that Saddamâ??s gone. A majority does have problems with the occupation. A majority is frustrated with where itâ??s at. A majority is hopeful about the future. All these things are true and youâ??re probably going to hear them in the same conversation.â?? ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html