Almost 20 years ago I filed this report from newly 'liberated' Baghdad . You may find it interesting

A visit to Baghdad in May 2003

Each evening, as night falls on Baghdad, the Middle Ages return.

This great modern city has been stripped of almost all the essentials of civilisation. By day it is not quite so obvious. But when the electricity shuts down for the night and there is only moonlight to see by, you understand that the modern world we think of as normal is built on a very thin crust.

All across the vast cityscape, residents are sawing down palm trees to build barricades across their...