Floating about this a.m. I came across patterico's and found an enticing bit of historical musing of past wars in Iraq. I see these things occasionally and am often disappointed that upon learning that the point is "Bush Lied-People Died" or somesuch. I investigated only because I like patterico. (I like AcutePolitics, also, but was thrown off by the name "Teflon Don.") It is a wonderful sketch of realization of the immensity and grandeur of Iraqi history. This is patterico's entry that I found and this is the acute politics article that he linked to. This soldier gets it. And he helps me to get it with him. Great stuff.
This region is steeped in history. We walk on it; we breath it in. Eons of history surround us, infiltrate us, and turn to dust beneath our feet. The ashes of countless cultures, civilizations, and rulers dreams lie under the earth. With each breath, I inhale a few molecules of the dying gasp of Cyrus II, the Persian "Constantine of the East". In the howling wind I can almost hear the cries of a countless multitude dying on killing grounds that bridge across the ages. The same wind carries the red dust that might yet hold a few drops of blood from the battle at Carrhae- the first, crushing defeat for Rome's red blooded legions. Under my heel, a speck grinds into dust: the last grain of sand that remains of the Hanging Gardens at Babylon that are now known only in legend. Some of the world's oldest religions tell us that somewhere in this ancient Cradle of life, God himself breathed on this dust, and it became man, the father of us all. Whatever path we take here, we walk on history.A commenter responded with this site of video historical maps. I found this one most interesting at the moment but there are many others that I'll be going back to see. Check out maps of war
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