Michael Totten visited the Kurd region of Iraq and took some pictures that may surprise people. I know what I picture in my mind when I think of the region, and it's nothing like Totten depicts:

In no country are Kurds closer to realizing their dream of freedom and independence than they are in Iraq. They are wrapping up the finishing touches on their de-facto sovereign state-within-a-state, a fact on the ground that will not easily be undone. And they’re transforming the hideously decrepit physical environment left to them by Saddam Hussein – a broken place that is terribly at odds with the Kurdistan in their hearts and in their minds – into something beautiful and inspiring, the kind of place you might like to live in someday yourself.

I wouldn't mind living in the house that he photographed. Be sure to check out what freedom has meant for Iraqi Kurds. Perhaps this will help spread democratization throughout the Middle East, once people see how the Kurds have improved their standard of living.

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