The second point is, quite naturally, that identity formation grows within a CONTEXT. If you do not understand the social, economic, cultural and political underpinnings of a society, you cannot understand either its corporate or individual identities, affiliations or loyalties. Anyone who tries to pinpoint an Iraqi in terms of a static rubric (Sunni/ Shi’i/ Kurd/ Assyrian/ Sabean/ Turcoman) will be forever lost in the wilderness. And he/she will probably deserve to be so.~ Hala Fattah, Askari Street

Hala Fattah is an Iraqi historian currently living in Jordan and my favourite blogger bar none. Her blog is by far the most informative and worthwhile at HNN or at most any other news or weblog site when it comes to matters pertaining to Iraq. Her blog is pretty much exclusively dedicated to the history and current affairs of Iraq, but this focus allows her to explain things so very well.

Her posts are rich and detailed, and it is clear that she puts far more thought into each of them than most bloggers (myself included) would ever bother to do. For anyone interested in understanding the situation in Iraq more thoroughly with some historical perspective, or is simply interested in solid, short historical articles online, Hala’s blog is the one to read.