To all armchair pundits

Being a newcomer in the vast blogosphere I should probably grateful to shark blog for drawing his readers' attention to my blog (and my book). Thanks, Stefan. But then, what a “shark hug” that was, too! Stefan writes:

“Kleveman's blog tends to favor the side of the media over the U.S. administration in the "how bad are things in Iraq" debate. But that's to be expected, he's from the media and writes mainly for a European audience.”

What kind of crap is this?

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Just in from Baghdad

Here is another dispatch from Jack in Baghdad. Now you tell me: is this biased, lazy, butt-covering, Vietnam-templating journalism? Judge for yourself...

A day in the life of an Iraqi ambulance driver
by Jack Fairweather in Baghdad

The bomb had gone off half an hour before, an improvised explosive device that sent a cloud of dust into the air. Planted in the central reservation of a crowded street in al-Hadamiya district of Baghdad, the bomb’s intended target was an American convoy. But the makers of the device had set the timer wrongly. At 9.00 am, the convoy passed safely by. A few seconds later, as Iraqis made their way to work in the poor but quiet neighbourhood, the explosives detonated. The street was reduced to carnage.

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Fair weather in Iraq

Alright, I know it has been more than three months since I left Iraq, so I may not be the most reliable source of information and judgment anymore. Worse, as the National Review suspects in its current review of my new book I may at times be prone to “a not-quite-subconscious European delight in portraying Americans as clumsy imperialists”. (Great blurb, actually. Would jack up the sales in France, that's for sure.)

Anyway, that is why I am proud to announce that I got a co-author on board: Jack Fairweather, a reporter friend of mine who has just gone back to Iraq for six (SIX!) months.

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