Amid the recrudescence of Cold War murder from Russia, the specter of strife in Lebanon, and the shadow of tyranny darkening over the defiantly hope-filled streets of Venezuela, there also is great suffering among the people in Iraq, where the recent attacks have been the war’s most violent.

Of course it is a civil war. There have been news reports that both sides can sustain their battle and both Sunni and Shia have old grudges to settle. This item here really explains the dynamic from the strategic perspective.

But amid all this, the people of Baghdad, day after day, are suffering greatly. Our dear Mohammed at Iraq The Model has some moving descriptions of strings of bad news – evacuations, losing one’s furniture, kidnappings, threats, menace, isolation, the wearing down of the war. Amid all this, neighbors in the little neighborhoods of the vast city still manage to get together to drink tea and be together, even though there is little they can do to stop the violence. Their only consolation? It is better than being alone.

Remember them too, in Iraq, for theirs is one of the world’s great struggles for democracy. Read the whole thing here.