
At Leptis Magna, a magnificent Roman archaeological site in Libya, local armed volunteers patrol the site day and night to preserve this outstanding heritage, at time when the nation is unstable and fractured.

In Baghdad, in 2006, I was stopped at a makeshift checkpoint by a militiaman who asked me whether I was Sunni or Shia. That brought seomething home to me: Iraq was not only occupied by the United States but was also under Iranian influence.