"One-third of us are dying, one-third of us are fleeing and one-third of us will be widows."

In HIST 2805, Islamic Civilization, our second-term writing assignment will be based on Anthony Shadid's book Night Draws Near. Shadid, who speaks Arabic and knows Baghdad from before the war, has just visited the city again. Here is his report from the Washington Post. Thanks to Juan Cole for drawing my attention to it.