The New Republic Daily
Report
06/10/11
On the Ground in Benghazi with the Idealists Who Are Trying to Build a New Society Tom Malinowski
The border crossing from Egypt into rebel-controlled
eastern Libya offers few clues that the country is at war. The Libyan
immigration officers wear ragged uniforms and carry on the routine of stamping
passports, though with a friendliness and ease that is undoubtedly new. The
eight-hour drive to the rebels’ de facto capital of Benghazi is dramatic only
for its scenery—a rugged coastline with wide open beaches, then, surprisingly,
green hills, crossed by deep gorges and adorned with beautifully preserved Greek
ruins, visited by no one. Some day this place will be crawling with tourists;
let’s pray the developers don’t destroy it, I thought. This was not the threat I
expected to be dwelling on in my first moments in Libya.
In Benghazi itself, the evidence of upheaval becomes more apparent. Each day, the streets roar with the sounds of pep rallies staged by fighters heading for the front; they fire guns in the air and occasionally set off dynamite to prove their devotion to their cause. But then the rallies give way to traffic jams and the rhythms of normal life. There are no lines for gas or food. Everyone says crime is down since the rebels took over. At Friday prayers, the imam tells the kids in the audience to cut out the celebratory gunfire: It rattles people’s nerves, he says, and besides, “we need the ammunition” in the besieged town of Misrata.
Continue reading "On the Ground in Benghazi with the Idealists Who Are Trying to Build a New Society"
Is Obama Finally Ready to Make the Case for Additional Stimulus? Jonathan Cohn
The Most Cowardly Singer in Country Music David Hajdu
06/10/11
On the Ground in Benghazi with the Idealists Who Are Trying to Build a New Society Tom Malinowski
The border crossing from Egypt into rebel-controlled
eastern Libya offers few clues that the country is at war. The Libyan
immigration officers wear ragged uniforms and carry on the routine of stamping
passports, though with a friendliness and ease that is undoubtedly new. The
eight-hour drive to the rebels’ de facto capital of Benghazi is dramatic only
for its scenery—a rugged coastline with wide open beaches, then, surprisingly,
green hills, crossed by deep gorges and adorned with beautifully preserved Greek
ruins, visited by no one. Some day this place will be crawling with tourists;
let’s pray the developers don’t destroy it, I thought. This was not the threat I
expected to be dwelling on in my first moments in Libya.In Benghazi itself, the evidence of upheaval becomes more apparent. Each day, the streets roar with the sounds of pep rallies staged by fighters heading for the front; they fire guns in the air and occasionally set off dynamite to prove their devotion to their cause. But then the rallies give way to traffic jams and the rhythms of normal life. There are no lines for gas or food. Everyone says crime is down since the rebels took over. At Friday prayers, the imam tells the kids in the audience to cut out the celebratory gunfire: It rattles people’s nerves, he says, and besides, “we need the ammunition” in the besieged town of Misrata.
Continue reading "On the Ground in Benghazi with the Idealists Who Are Trying to Build a New Society"
Is Obama Finally Ready to Make the Case for Additional Stimulus? Jonathan Cohn
The Most Cowardly Singer in Country Music David Hajdu
