Give them connectivity and let them blog

Datelineóabove the garage, Portsmouth RI, 21 April

Reference: "Iraqis enjoy new freedom of expression on Web journals," by Cesar G. Soriano, USA Today, 21 April

The real story of postwar Iraq is not found in the violence, but in the growing connectivity with the outside world. This is the most important measure of effectiveness regarding our interventionóIraq today is far more connected than it was a year ago.

A year ago access to the Internet was only a dream to the vast majority of Iraqis. "Now, Internet cafes seemingly dot every block in Baghdad, and new ones open often."

Quelle surprise! Iraqi bloggers have arisen in numbers, and one is already an international celebrity for his online journal. Like so many before, it began as a series of email exchanges during the war (exactly the same way I sent dispatches around the world from the family war that was my firstborn's battle with cancer back in '95). Now the poor guy, who writes as Salam Pax, has both a book and a much-visited website. So busy he doesn't return calls from USA Today.

Seems like everyone wants to give Pax a chance nowadays!

One blogger says of his new-found liberation on the Internet: "I was afraid all my life. I will not go back to living in fear"óor, I might add, disconnectedness.