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.

Well, isn't that precious?

Can anyone play this game?

Let's see...

When I considered telephoning a woman named Sarah Boxer in New York, I wondered who might answer. An Al Qaeda operative? A Saudi in a burkha posing as an American? Someone paid by the Iranian or Syrian defense agency to oppose the war? Or simply an American with some mixed feelings about the American presence in Iraq, and determined to see it, and America, fail? Until she picked up the phone, she was just a ghost on the NYT internet website...

I'm just sayin'...

[Update on Wednesday morning]

N. Z. Bear has picked up the ball and run it all the way into the end zone.

[Another update at 10:30 AM, eastern]

My, oh my. A commenter has tracked down the perp, and found out that she's a book author.

Sarah Boxer’s charming first book is a series of cartoon case histories, an animal tour of all things Freudian. The tale begins when Mr. Bunnyman runs into Dr. Floyd’s office to hide from a wolf that is chasing him, and Floyd, a classic pipe-smoking analyst, insists that Bunnyman’s problem is psychological—that he is not actually being chased but is having paranoid fantasies.

And here's an interview with her:

IDLER: Were you ever psychoanalyzed?

BOXER: I tried psychotherapy for many years, with different therapists who were pretty much Freudian, but I never went five days a week.

IDLER: How much of this work is autobiographical, drawing on your experiences?

BOXER: It is not a memoir. It is not based on my experiences. It is based more on the reading of Freud that I did. I used to read Freud for fun, believe it or not...

...IDLER: Was there a family connection to Freud?

BOXER: My sister is a psychologist.

It all starts to make sense now.

And this isn't a first-time offense. Last summer she was revealed to be a quagmirista.

I was wondering if anyone had asked the question whether she was a member of Al Qaeda. I don't know that she is, but it's a question that could be answered. Now that the question has been raised, she should answer. Though she probably would deny it if she were...

Bolie IV

Touché. ;-p

I just checked, my bookmark for Iraq the Model is dated Nov 03.

Nice to see the NYT can now reveal that it was a deep-cover conspiracy all along.

Congratulations on the instalanche!

"I'm just sayin." Good one!

So what's with all the accusations of blogger payola emanating from the MSM recently?

If blogs are getting cash, can anyone verify that many 'real’ journalists aren't? Or better yet, tell if they are?

How about advertising? Most bloggers aren't worried about chasing off non existant advertisers, they just have an opinion.

It's easiest to suspect your own failings of others, even if they aren't there...

Disclosure:
Nobody pays me for spouting off from other peoples soapboxes.

Thanks for the soapbox!

SARAH BOXER or BARBARA BOXER...

I'm just wondering which got hit in the head more times?

Betcha Sarah is Barbara's daughter. Barbara is an older loony-liberal lefty, and Sarah just *has* to be a young green tree-hugger type.

NahnCee,
Naw, she's not BB's daughter, but she does have a fetish for Freud.

Bolie,

As far as I know, there still isn't a formal Al Qaeda organization. So the question isn't well-defined.

I read elsewhere people defending Ms Boxer. Maybe so on a few claims, but this is simply pathetic journalism. She gives equal billing to a poster named "Ghandi" (I guess if you pick a moniker of someone great and credible then you must be... what?) and Ali. Ali makes sense, but why not any of the other two brothers. Indeed the whole story is about Irag The Model with absolutely no comment from anyone currently associated with the site. There is no evidence that she tried to contact the current people running the site to vet its affliation. What standards does the NYTimes have?

http://www.randomhouse.com/pantheon/graphicnovels/boxer.html

Is this the Sarah Boxer you're talking about?

Roux - We have a winner!!!

Your find is priceless. Best part?

"...and other subjects."

All hail the mighty DARP...um, I mean Internet.

CUCKOO! CUCKOO! CUCKOO!

Leland asks: "What standards does the NYTimes have?"

None.