Alive In Baghdad is example of the web explosion of video blogs that flourish with the spread of broadband. This short video shows Apaches over Baghdad from the perspective of an Iraqi living in Baghdad and if you want to get a good close-up view of what's on these aircraft, the video provides it.

While the sentiments of the speaker are simplistic, it provides excellent insight into what the people below are thinking as they see Apaches flying overhead. Nowhere is the cultural chasm more evident than when you think about the pilots overhead who fly to accomplish something positive for the people on the ground and the Iraqis who see them as menacing and a disruption for "sleeping babies and sick people". In Iraq today rumor fuels more rumors and over time gains credibility. That is clearly evident as this video unfolds.

But one caution is in order if you cruise some of the other videos on the site. The terrorist insurgents have a well oiled propaganda machine that gets their story out. As you view some of the other videos on the site you sometimes get the feeling you are watching staged responses and reactions. Nowhere was that more evident than one video that showed the after effects of a US raid. Although the video states it occurred in "the fall" the damage appears more recent to the viewer. Yep, it looks totally staged and contrived.

It's unfortunate, simply because otherwise the site might be a true window into the minds of Iraqis. But in this case, it may simply be another means of disseminating the messages of those who seek to insure America fails in Iraq, disguised as a blog site.