Iraqi Spokesman Ali Aldabbagh, originally uploaded by Rob Bluey.

Dr. Ali Aldabbagh, the official spokesman for the Iraqi government, met with a group of conservative bloggers today at the Heritage Foundation, one of several stops he’s making in Washington this week. Aldabbagh spent about 45 minutes telling us about life in Iraq. (He’s pictured above, center, with an aide and my Heritage colleague Bridgett Wagner.)

So far I’ve spotted posts from Brian Faughnan at the Weekly Standard and McQ at QandO. If I come across others, I’ll make sure to update this post.

I found the meeting tremendously valuable. It offered bloggers an opportunity to ask the Iraqi government’s spokesman anything they wanted. Questions varied from the war to reconstruction. His answers were forthcoming and detailed.

Aldabbagh also heard suggestions from bloggers about how he could better tell the story about progress being made in Iraq. Several bloggers suggested using video to get the message out. The Multi-National Force in Iraq is already covering one angle on its YouTube page, but the American people don’t just want to see the military in action. I suspect there’s a strong desire to hear from Iraqis themselves or to see the hospitals and schools being constructed.

In retrospect, I wish I had recorded Aldabbagh’s answers on video. Anyone who can communicate as effectively as he can should seek ways to bypass the biased media and reach out to bloggers directly.

UPDATE — April 11, 4:46 p.m.: I promised an update yesterday and I’ve got a good one. I suggested that bloggers would love to have a destination to view construction of hospitals and schools. Turns out there is a YouTube page for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Gulf Region Division, featuring exactly the types of clips that I suggested.

Also, my friend Soren Dayton offers some commentary on yesterday’s meeting with Aldabbagh. Conn Carroll features a recap today at National Journal’s Blogometer.