Faces Of The War Generation

Dan Zak: BAGHDAD — On a bright October day in this city’s Tahrir Square, Muhammed Asaad tried to make some noise. He announced his cellphone number to a group of 50 protesters at the weekly Friday demonstration. Text me your message, he said, and he would amplify it through a scratchy-sounding speaker on wheels.

“If you don’t demonstrate, you’re not a man,” chanted Asaad, 26, glancing at his phone, trying to rile up young men in polo shirts and football jerseys. “We are not going to die or give up our rights.”