Boxer & the blogger

Right-wing bloggers are abuzz in self-righteous indignation over this NYT article by Sarah Boxer on the IraqtheModel site, in part because she begins her article thus:

When I telephoned a man named Ali Fadhil in Baghdad last week, I wondered who might answer. A C.I.A. operative? An American posing as an Iraqi? Someone paid by the Defense Department to support the war? Or simply an Iraqi with some mixed feelings about the American presence in Iraq? Until he picked up the phone, he was just a ghost on the Internet.

“Ms. Boxer,” scolds Jeff Jarvis, “don’t you think you could be putting the life of that person at risk with that kind of speculation? … How dare you? Have you no sense of responsibility? Have you no shame?”

The article “demonstrates both the bias and the stunning irresponsibility of the author,” thunders Powerline.

Glenn Reynolds wonders, “Is the Times guilty of aiding and abetting the enemy, by putting the lives of pro-democracy and pro-American bloggers at risk?”

And American Digest does a bit of googles up some not-so-interesting tidbits on Ms. Boxer and dubs her a “shameless scribble” who has “risked the lives of people she has never met.”

Jeez guys — I thought you said everything was fine in Iraq! This trio uses their real names in interviews, on their web sites and even in press releases. This USA Today article and this LA Times piece also mentioned the CIA allegations (in the context of rebutting them, though Boxer also seemed to conclude the bloggers weren’t with the CIA). (Both are pay links, alas).

If a piece in the NYT Arts section is somehow going to put anyone’s life at risk, Iraq is in a lot worse shape than we think. This sanctimonious outrage strikes me as more political than anything else … like so many other “you’ve-put-lives-at-risk!” criticisms.

UPDATE: They even have their photos online!

UPDATE 2: Glenn Reynolds links to me and calls my rejoinder “rather weak to me.” Hmm. Well, maybe I was a little snarky with my dig that right-wing bloggers are claiming “everything is fine in Iraq.” Still, the blogging brothers themselves have mentioned the CIA rumors to journalists, such as this interview from the Dec. 27, 2004 LA Times:

“At the beginning, they said, ‘You are not Iraqis living in Iraq. Now they say we are recruited by the CIA,” Omar lamented at a recent gathering at the Hollywood Hills home of U.S. blogger Roger L. Simon. “Maybe we are CIA agents and we don’t know,” his brother joked.

They have gotten the attention of U.S. policymakers. The brothers were invited to a meeting with President Bush at the White House on Dec. 9. “He said, ‘Feel comfortable. You have a friend here,’ ” Muhammad recalled.

These guys feel comfortable meeting the President Bush … that the insurgents are going to hunt them down based on the “wondering” of a NYT arts reporter just seems far-fetched to me. But until either of them weighs in, I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree.

UPDATE 3: Jersey Exile writes in the Buzz Machine comments:

Yeah, I hear the insurgents in Fallujah can’t start their day without reading the New York Times Arts Section.

Get a grip folks. It’s not always about us.

UPDATE 4: Belmont Club quotes this post in a comparison of attitudes regarding Boxer and the AP stringer who photographed the Haifa Street executions. Just to be clear: I certainly don’t think that journalists or insurgents are above moral judgment! But I hope that Ali Fadhil is just one of dozens, if not hundreds, of Iraqis in Baghdad who are inspiring rumors of CIA backing by speaking out for democracy and freedom.

Also, noted in the comments section – Jeff Jaris isn’t a right-wing blogger. My mistake.

UPDATE 5: VINDICATION. Ali Fadhil has responded to the NYT article on his site, writing:

The article was, despite Ms Boxer’s kindness, a bad piece of journalism. I had around 45 minutes long phone call with the reporter about my journey with Iraq the Model, my new site, the elections, the general situation here in Baghdad but she (or the paper) seems to have a certain agenda and managed to change the whole issue into a very silly gossip (going as far as quoting trolls!) that is way beneath any respectable paper and certainly beneath me so I won’t give it more attention but lesson learned and I won’t make the mistake of talking to anyone from the NY times again. It’s important to note though that my feelings of respect, gratitude and love for the American people have never and will never change.

I don’t blame him for being critical; I think his assessment that it was “very silly gossip” is correct. (although I’m probably not one who should be throwing stones). But notably, Fadhil doesn’t repeat any of the shrill charges that the story could get get him killed.

UPDATE 6 (1/20): Now I sorta regret my criticism of the Boxer piece. It is a bit unseemly, perhaps, criticizing one’s colleagues/competitors in public. Like I’m some great journalist. Ha! But in keeping with Jay Tea’s blogger code of ethics, I’ll let it all stand.

Anyway, here’s the site of the guy making accusations against the Fadhil brothers; I didn’t find any of it convincing, so doing a story on the “controversy” struck me as a bit contrived. On the other hand, I think Boxer’s piece was meant to be more of a personal essay than some big exploration of the truth or falsehood of the “Gandhi’s” charges. I’ll be curious to see if Daniel Okrent takes this up in future. In any case, the main point I was making was that it was a real stretch to think any of it was going to get anyone killed, and I think I’ve been vindicated. People just got all self-righteous and sanctimonious because it was a chance to bash the Times, just like the Valerie Plame affair became an opportunity to bash Robert Novak. Well, IMHO anyway.

UPDATE 7: Okay, the other Fadhil brothers weigh in with a scathing attack that I’ll let speak for itself:

Let’s go back to the “article” itself and particularly to its beginning; the writer allowed herself to put all the accusations in the front and considered the possibility that we are Iraqis as the last possible theory on the list. …

The fact that her pathetic article might endanger us and our friends over at Friends of Democracy will not stop us from continuing the work we’re doing and we’re determined to accomplish what we’ve started because we feel responsible towards our readers and we don’t write our posts to throw stupid accusations here and there.

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For the benefit of Instapundit [& Belmont Club!] readers: I’m a 32-year-old nyc-based reporter — although the opinions expressed herein are definitely mine and not my employer’s, natch. Basically this is a place for me to comment on journalism and share my passion for running and the Red Sox. Although I disagree with Glenn on this issue, I agree with some of the other bombshells the blogosphere has tossed in the MSM’s direction in recent months: here‘s my take on the forged CBS documents, while you can read my thoughts on the Edward Lee Pitts/Donald Rumsefeld flap here. But I defended CBS on other issues here and here; and here’s my response to another blogger who said the mainstream media was ignoring the good news from Iraq.