Memorial Day

I took my Memorial Day on Sunday, watching the Indianapolis 500 and curled up with "Night Draws Near," an extraordinary account of the lives of Iraqis before, during and after the U.S. invasion. It's one of those books that, without really telling you much you didn't already know, somehow puts everything into its proper place and perspective. Most enlightening so far, perhaps, is the way it helps me understand how Iraqis could both hate Saddam and hate us for attacking their country to remove him. I'm only up to the beginning of the occupation, but it's already clear that this mess won't be fixed for a long, long time.