I happened to come across a blog by Leon, a 24-year-old American, that details his fantastic journey backpacking into post-Saddam Iraq, meeting townspeople on the street, eating local food, and engaging in amazing conversations with citizens he met along the way. The depth and details he provides in his account are nothing you'll ever read in a mainstream newspaper, magazine, or cable news show.

<a href='http://leonsparx.blogspot.com' target='_blank'>Backpaq in Iraq</a>

Click the links on the right side of his webpage to read his diary and check out the ample amounts of photographs. It's a lot of reading, but pretty engaging.

Quote:The Iraqis I met were all delighted to meet a civilian American--most of them have never seen one without a rifle at arm's reach. Just as they wanted to convince me that not all Iraqis are maniacs throwing stones at soldiers, so too did I want to show them that Americans are nice, open-minded people who have no quarrel with Muslims or Arabs. As a tourist, I could walk the streets freely and talk to people as I liked. I didn't have a cumbersome motorcade or armed escort following me around, which I think encouraged people to open up.

I really hope things smooth out it Iraq. Having strong relationships in the Middle East are vital to the War on Terror and also the Israel Road Map to Peace. I'm eager to see what Iraq will look like in 25 years after the US has withdrawn and the Iraqi's have their own govn't and the Iraqi economy is thriving. It will be interesting to tell our children we were alive while Saddam ruled, much like my grandfather told me about life in America during Hitler's reign and WWII.