Carole1210: All Comments

"A moment has been lost, and that’s what I was trying to write about: an intersection that we did once see between America and Iraq and an idealized vision both had of the other." My friend, Basil Balian, attended Baghdad College in the 50s and wrote a book about his experiences growing up in Iraq at that time, Once Upon a Time in Iraq. It was indeed a moment of hope for Iraqis, who had a much more positive view of America, once that is, sadly, irretrievably gone. I encouraged him to write the book, and even got it into President Obama's hands. I had hoped that reading the book might waylay some Americans' fears about Iraqis, but that doesn't seem to have happened. It was indeed a kinder, gentler time.