the Bush administration was wrong. He supported the 2007 'surge' strategy. On June 23, 2010, Totten lauded Barack Obama's decision to accept General Stanley McChrystal's resignation, and Totten labeled it "one of the best decisions the president has made since he took office." Funding Totten describes himself as an "independent journalist." Most of his trips—to Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey, Israel, Egypt, Libya, Bosnia, Kosovo, Georgia, and several other places—are paid for out of his own pocket, although he has also accepted funding from the government of Azerbaijan, the American Jewish Committee and the Lebanese pro-western March 14 alliance for trips to Azerbaijan, Israel, and Lebanon, respectively. Personal life In the early 2000s, Totten married Shelly Lynn Stephenson in Oregon's Multnomah County. He describes his wife as "conventionally" liberal. They are both registered Democrats and atheists, although Totten did not vote for Barack Obama and is a former Christian. They lived together in the Sunnyside neighborhood of Portland, Oregon until they moved in late 2020 or early 2021. Totten was briefly a Libertarian during the 1990s but became a Democrat afterwards, though he has previously said that he was never fully content with being a Democrat and has considered returning to the Libertarians. Books Totten's first book, The Road to Fatima Gate: The Beirut Spring, the Rise of Hezbollah, and the Iranian War Against Israel (Encounter Books, April 2011, ), reports his experiences in the Middle East, primarily those in Lebanon. Other books include: Tower of the Sun: Stories From the Middle East and North Africa (2014) Where the West Ends (2012) Resurrection: A Zombie Novel (2014) Taken – A Novel (2013) In the Wake of the Surge (2011) On the Hunt in Baghdad (2011) In the Land of the Brother Leader (2011) Raid Night (2011) References Further reading Hope for Iraq's Meanest City City Journal, Spring 2008 Interview at National Review Online, February 2006 Review of The Road to Fatima Gate by Sol Stern, City Journal, Spring 2011 Uncommon Knowledge: Michael Totten – The Road to Fatima Gate Peter Robinson interviews Totten, May 2011 What skews news reportage of Israel & Arab issues?, August 2014 External links Facebook fan page 1970 births American male journalists American people of English descent American political blogs American reporters and correspondents American former Christians American atheists Journalists from Oregon Living people Oregon Democrats Writers from Portland, Oregon Writers from Salem, Oregon Writers on the Middle