Maybe it was the way Rory flaunted his expense account by overpaying for pizza. Maybe it was the promise of more back issues of the New Yorker, (Anthony Lane's X2 review gets a specific mention. Whose yer publicist, Tony? Day-amn!)
Whatever, it worked. The Guardian's Rory McCarthy meets, profiles, and signs Salam Pax to write Baghdad Blog for the paper. It'll be what Britons call a "fortnightly" gig. [putting that in cross-Atlantic perspective: less than Tina Brown, Columnist but far more than Tina Brown, Talk Show Host.]
My question, of course, if they're calling Salam's column Baghdad Blog, does that mean I can keep bloghdad.com? I think so. I think it's what's best for the Iraqi people. And besides, what kind of American would I be if my pre-war Iraq-related assurances and assertions didn't turn out to be hollow and wildly discredited?