https://pjmedia.com/richardfernandez/2009/03/27/eyes-wide-open/feed/PJ Media is a leading news site covering culture, politics, faith, homeland security, and more. Our reporters and columnists provide original, in-depth analysis from a variety of perspectives.en-usWed, 10 Jun 2026 06:02:47 -0400<![CDATA[Michael Totten goes out with US troops in post-Surge Baghdad, a place much quieter than it was before, but still menacing, still full of problems.  Like a lot of his work, it captures the esssentials of a scene but doesn&#8217;t gloss over the contradictions. From the brief time I spent working with him, I think his main strength is to simply tell a story with all the funny, sad and absurd parts left in, in broad enough terms to let you glimpse the whole picture and ragged enough to convey that you will never understand it all. Take this paragraph, for instance, describing a security census in Baghdad.]]>Fri, 27 Mar 2009 03:25:11 -0400<![CDATA[Richard Fernandez]]>https://pjmedia.com/richard-fernandez/2009/03/27/eyes-wide-open-n187611