Intelligencer

Blogs Over Baghdad

A new set of Iraqi bloggers on the ongoing war.

By Ethan Brown
Published Apr 19, 2004

As bombs began falling on Baghdad last March, an Iraqi writing under the nom de blog Salam Pax gave a one-of-a-kind account of a city under siege. His posts earned him a book deal (as well as the charge, later dismissed, of being a hoax). Now a new group of Iraqi bloggers—several of whom are linked to on Pax’s site, dear_raed.blogspot.com—shed light on the turmoil.

The Blog: healingiraq.blogspot.com
The Blogger: Zeyad, a dentist, was for the invasion, but now seems far less sure.
The Entry: “The sense of impending disaster . . . the breakdown of most governmental facilities . . . All signs indicate that it’s spiraling out of control, and any statements by . . . U.S. officials suggesting otherwise are blatantly absurd.”

The Blog: riverbendblog.blogspot.com
The Blogger: A stridently antiwar and anonymous “girl” blogger in Baghdad.
The entry: “I was getting . . . stares—why wasn’t this girl wearing a hijab? Ever since the war, even Christian women have been pressured into hiding their hair.”

The Blog: Iraqthemodel.blogspot.com
The Bloggers: Three Iraqi brothers, Mohammed, Ali, and Omar.
The Entry: “I went to the bakery . . . Suddenly everyone went quiet after hearing heavy explosions . . . No one is safe in Baghdad. Oh, I really miss the air campaign!”

The Blog: raedinthemiddle.blogspot.com
The Blogger: Formerly the “Raed” of Salam Pax’s blog, the Palestinian Iraqi architect now has his own, which is both fervently anti-Saddam and anti-U.S.
The Entry: “Do you want elections and democracy? The powerful extremist-religion people are going to win.”