Reading

Iran economy facing perfect storm - BBC

"The International Monetary Fund said in August that Iran would face unsustainable deficits should prices for its oil fall below $75 a barrel."

How we lost the war we won – Nir Rosen, RollinStone
Nir shows the dark humor and confusion in NATO's efforts to fight the Talibn:

As we drive away, Ibrahim laughs. The soldiers, he explains, thought I was a suicide bomber. Ibrahim did not bother to tell them that he and Shafiq are midlevel Taliban commanders, escorting me deep into Ghazni, a province largely controlled by the spreading insurgency that now dominates much of the country.

Why I blog - Andrew Sullivan, Atlantic
An excellent piece on blogging as a literary form and its relation with journalism.

Inside Egypt: Nostalgia for Colonia Rule – Angry Arab, As'ad Khalil
What an entertaining book review! Khalil tells it as it is.