Tribute to Iceland OPEN THREAD

Imagine the climate adjustment required for that solitary Icelandic soldier stationed in Iraq. The member of the “Icelandic Crisis Response Unit” (Iceland doesn’t have a “formally constituted military”) is actually a media representative in Baghdad, but Bush used him to bolster his B.S. claim of a coalition of 36 countries in Iraq.

Thank you to everyone for your generous gifts and your caring notes (more about that below the fold). While I waited to see several specialists in Seattle this week (surgery is postponed until mid-October), luckily I had Tyler Drumheller’s book with me. His cool and coherent writing style does not obscure his impassioned plea for diplomacy and cooperative interactions with other countries’ intelligence agencies — especially meaningful because Mr. Drumheller, as former chief of CIA clandestine operations in Europe, has “walked the walk” and personally succeeded in working cooperatively with many countries, which he describes through fascinating stories. If Mr. Drumheller’s philosophy and practices had prevailed, we’d have a true coalition with healthy international relationships (well, at least for any sane, feasible overseas intervention).

BookTV.org nerds are in for a great treat this weekend: Lawrence Wright, winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction for his book The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11, is interviewing Raymond Ibrahim, author of The Al Qaeda Reader, on Saturday 9 PM, Sunday 6 PM and 9 PM, Monday 12 AM ET.

BookTV‘s blurb (I’m on their mailing list):

Insightful author interviews
Saturday 9 PM, Sunday 6 PM and 9 PM, Monday 12 AM ET

Raymond Ibrahim translates key Al Qaeda documents, some previously unavailable in English, that provide a window into the thinking of radical Islam’s leadership. The Al Qaeda Reader is divided into theology and propaganda, and focuses on the writings of Ayman al-Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden. Mr. Ibrahim is interviewed by Lawrence Wright, winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction for his book The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11.

When Wright’s book came out, my daughter and I each bought copies and read his book “together.” We found it utterly fascinating, and it helped us get a much better sense of the history of the Middle East as well as a very detailed story of Osama Bin Laden’s and Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri’s lives. I keep the book at my desk because it is such a useful reference with a superb index along with footnotes.

One of the most gripping stories that Wright tells is the seizure of Mecca’s Grand Mosque by a large group of radicals in 1979, and how Turki, King Faisal’s youngest son and Saudi Arabia’s “spymaster,” did a brilliant job of handling an impossible situation, albeit with many inevitable casualties. Notably, Amazon just sent me an e-mail about a new book devoted to this terrible crisis in Saudi Arabia’s history:

We’ve noticed that customers who have purchased or rated The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright have also purchased The Siege of Mecca: The Forgotten Uprising in Islam’s Holiest Shrine and the Birth of al-Qaeda by Yaroslav Trofimov. For this reason, you might like to know that The Siege of Mecca: The Forgotten Uprising in Islam’s Holiest Shrine and the Birth of al-Qaeda will be released on September 18, 2007. You can pre-order yours at a savings of $8.84 by following this link.

Other interesting programming this weekend on BookTV:

Rep. Steve Israel, Charge: History’s Greatest Military Speeches

Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY) compiled what he contends are the greatest military speeches from throughout modern and ancient history. Speeches include Pericles’ reply to Sparta, Napoleon before the Battle of Austerlitz, and George W. Bush following 9/11. Rep. Israel delivered his talk at the American Airpower Musuem in Farmingdale, New York.
(Saturday 3:45 PM ET)

Glenn Kessler, The Confidante: Condoleezza Rice and the Creation of the Bush Legacy
Glenn Kessler looks at Condoleezza Rice’s tenure as Secretary of State. James Mann and Don Oberdorfer provide commentary.
(Sunday 8 AM and 7 PM ET)

And, well, this program will either make us bang our heads against a wall, or give us fits of giggles:

Michael Ledeen, The Iranian Time Bomb: The Mullah Zealots’ Quest for Destruction
Michael Ledeen argues that Iran is a threat to the United States and Israel and suggests ways to counter the threat without using military means. Commentary is provided by Cliff May and former CIA director James Woolsey.
(Saturday 10 PM, Sunday 10 AM, and Monday 5:30 AM ET)

A note about me: I hope to thank each of you individually, including the anonymous person who paid my “incidentals” bill at my hotel. Special thanks to PrchrLady for providing her home address so people could mail her checks, which she immediately forwarded to me (or my daughter’s work address). I haven’t some of the cards and checks in hand yet, but my daughter is bringing them to me today.

Special thanks to Leslie for sharing my stories with everyone, and keeping everyone informed. And special thanks for her fascinating, newsy posts here.

Special grateful thanks to Larry Johnson who not only pitched in financially, but also used his frequent-flyer trip points to get me a lovely, handicapped-friendly room at a particularly nice Seattle hotel that was easy for my daughter to get to from both work and home. (Larry even requested extra pillows and a refrigerator.) That room had everything I needed, from a shower chair to bars to hold onto. The hotel lent me their wheelchair, which was especially well-made, and their staff wheeled me around wherever I needed to go. Larry, you’re the best.

My eyeglasses: As Leslie told you, your gifts made it possible for me to get new glasses for reading and for distance. Between the hip/leg-related appointments, I saw an optometrist who referred me to an ophthalmologist who is a Fellow in studies of glaucoma. Local doctors had told me to start the glaucoma drops, but I’d hesitated until I could see a Seattle doctor. The ophthalmology glaucoma fellow — a truly thoughtful and highly attentive young doctor — told me it’s a difficult, complex diagnosis, and he wants me to return in two months for a further check before they begin any treatment. He also gave me great tips to improve my ability to read both books and the computer screen (which has been a terrible problem for me, and affected my ability to do research). I get the glasses next week in the mail, since I won’t be in Seattle as I’d planned. I can’t wait!

Very long story short: The surgeon insisted that the vascular surgeon, the dermatologist, and the rheumatologist get to the bottom of the strange venous patterning on my leg, or he would not do my surgery. I was very upset, but it finally dawned on me that I was getting truly careful, thoughtful medical care, which I am wholly unused to. Luckily, the dermatologist — a brilliant young woman — had seen my “pattern” on a patient when she studied at Harvard Medical School. She biopsied my leg to be sure, but she felt it was from my overuse of heating pads and cold packs to deal with the pain. It worried her that I had so much pain, and she determined to find the cause. The rheumatologist was incredibly thorough — almost two hours for a complete medical history and examination — and told me things I’d never known. That I was born with congenital hip dysplasia — he can see the malformed hip ball on the xrays. (Just like dogs commonly have!) He also said the locally-done xrays of my knees are worthless because they’re not weight-bearing xrays, and that we’ll need to address my knee pain, but only after my hip surgery, which he said must be done immediately. It’s impossible to describe what an edifying and moving experience it was to have these top doctors LISTEN to me, and be proactive.

And, your gifts made it possible for me to deal with the unexpected expenses this week, including cab rides when my daughter had to be at work, and a flight home when the bus shuttle was full and couldn’t take me home. It cost $82 to ride on a Cessna with nine other passengers and the pilot, who treated me so well and made sure the airline’s wheelchair was at the plane when we landed. And the scenery! I’d never seen the islands of Puget Sound, the Olympic mountains, and the Strait of Juan De Fuca from the air. Then there’s that the flight was only 35 minutes, whereas the bumpy bus shuttle takes three hours.

Thank you all so very much. I am humbled by your kindness.

I’m trying to figure out a way to make a video to thank all of you “in person.”