While Mr Maass was reporting from Baghdad during the US-led invasion, Mr Pax - now a columnist for The Guardian - worked as his interpreter.
"Two friends emailed to suggest I track him down. I had no idea what they were talking about. I could have handed the job over to my interpreter - he was a clever and funny Iraqi who never failed to provide me with what I needed."
Mr Maass tells how he visited the weblog on his return to New York, and read a series of stories about people they had met in Baghdad.
"His latest post mentioned an afternoon spent at the Hamra Hotel pool, reading a borrowed copy of the New Yorker. I laughed out loud. He then mentioned an escapade in which he helped deliver 24 pizzas to American soldiers. I howled. The paper he had been reading was mine. The pizzas were taken to a unit I was writing about.
"My inner journalist tells me to draw back and write about the larger significance of my encounter with Salam Pax. My inner blogger, however, tells me to skip the 'What This Means' stuff and write about life with Mr Pax."
Sources:
http://slate.msn.com/id/2083847/
http://dear_raed.blogspot.com/
Free daily newsletter
If you like our news and feature articles, you can sign up to receive our free daily (Mon-Fri) email newsletter (mobile friendly).
Related articles
- DCMS-backed media literacy programme is supporting vulnerable internet users
- Tip: Lessons from the Guardian's membership model
- How should the media cover COP26 and climate change long-term?
- How memberships and subscription models drive business growth
- How the Guardian's supporters helped save the newspaper