The Baghdad Blogger, Salam Pax, also known as Dear Raed, is real, according to this Slate story. "Salam Pax" is the Slate reporter's interpreter. But lack of broadband access meant the reporter didn't know this before returning to his New York cable modem:
"My slow-speed satellite phone all but precluded Web browsing, which meant the only non-Arabic media I was exposed to, from mid-March until just a few days ago, consisted of snatches of the BBC. The fascination and controversy over Salam Pax-when he stopped posting for a brief period, his Web fans worried he might have been arrested or gone into hiding-completely escaped me."
(Later . . .) The Slate reporter deserves kudos for some well-turned phrases that just make you smile, including: "nom de blog," "a virtual felled forest of postings on war blogs" and "There was a kerfuffle." Don't miss this laugh-out-loud detail about Salam, who apparently blogs better than he drives: "He got behind the wheel. There was just a foot or so between the Hyundai and the cars in front and back. Salam grimaced. "I don't think I can do this without causing damage," he said.
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