In Anthony Shadid's extraordinary new book about the Iraq war, the Iraqis themselves finally speak

By Gary Kamiya - Sept. 13, 2005 | The U.S. government, its military, its press and its people have operated in ignorance of Iraq from the beginning. The United States invaded Iraq blindly, occupied it blindly and is now blindly trying to find a way to escape. In this darkness, the publication of Anthony Shadid's Night Draws Near: Iraq's People in the Shadow of America's War is an important event, a ray of light. This is the first book about the Iraq war to tell the Iraqi side of the story. It is painful and necessary reading.

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