Baghdad Burning — again

This is not the first time Riverbend, my favorite Iraqi blogger, has taken a hiatus. But this was a really long break. And with the news coming out of Baghdad being what it is, it's hard not to worry when a voice like hers falls silent. So it was a great relief, of sorts, to read her latest post

This has been the longest time I have been away from blogging. There were several reasons for my disappearance the major one being the fact that every time I felt the urge to write about Iraq, about the situation, I'd be filled with a certain hopelessness that can't be put into words and that I suspect other Iraqis feel also.