It is not safe to be in Baghdad, it is patently unsafe and that's true for whatever political persuasion you are. They will kill you if you are Republican, they will kill you if you are Democrat,

We were the only westerners in our neighbourhood, ... Our goal was to cover the realities of the occupation on the ground and we had not got the same security concerns as, say, CNN. Maybe at some levels they don't trust Iraqis with their security. There's a part in the book where I'm trying to take CNN to a refugee camp, and they wouldn't go. And so no one sees Falluja refugees.

I'm sick of doing stories that make me want to drink myself into a stupor, ... We want stories to reflect the daily life for people in Baghdad – unfortunately, it’s a terrible existence.

It is essential to persuade the soldier that those he is being urged to massacre are bandits who do not deserve to live; before killing other good, decent fellows like himself, his gun would fall from his hands

"For your own good" is a persuasive argument that will eventually make a man agree to his own destruction.

The young mind is pliable and imitates, but in more advanced states grows rigid and must be warmed and softened before it will receive a deep impression.