Yes, the Salon article is long. Even if you do not have the subscription (recommended), you should be able to read it after watching an ad. My link works, doesn't it? The article is not particularly a part of longer series. But the same author, Phillip Robertson, writes regularly about Iraq. In particular, he wrote about Marla Ruzicka and

Yasser Salihee was an Iraqi journalist. Joe was an American sniper. On June 24, 2005, fate brought them together on a Baghdad street.

I was fascinated by the sad story of the Al Mutanabbi street, and wanted to share it. Condi's remark gave me an immediate opportunity. Intellectual flourishing or progress is often taken for granted, but it may not necessarily go on just so.