I envy Michael J. Totten.

I’ve been following his work since early 2003, in the months leading up to the Iraq war. I found his blog during a brief (and mostly fruitless) search for sane, pro-war liberals. As his blog became increasingly popular, he began traveling to the Middle East to get a first-hand look at the place.

At present, he’s in Iraq, and has written an excellent two-part piece on the hotly contested Anbar Province (the first post can be found here; the second post can be found here).

If you’re looking for a sensible, realistic assessment of conditions on the ground in Iraq without the blood-and-guts, chicken little bullshit squeezed out by CNN, Reuters, and AFP, Totten’s your guy. He doesn’t sugarcoat or peddle to any particular audience. He’s just a good umpire who calls it as he sees it.
Check out his blog. You won’t be disappointed.