Hat tip to Andrew Sullivan for letting us know that Pew Research has just posted a very interesting survey of journalists in Iraq.
...Many believe the situation over the course of the war has been worse than the American public has perceived, according to a new survey of journalists covering the war from Iraq.
Above all, the journalists -- most of them veteran war correspondents -- describe conditions in Iraq as the most perilous they have ever encountered, and this above everything else is influencing the reporting.
This was not about whether the surge is successful or not, just the situation journalists (and presumably Iraqi civilians) find themselves in when not huddled within the relative safety of the Green Zone. It's as good a measure as anything I've seen so far of the reliability of reports from the military command (Green Zone) vs. reports from hard working journalists just about anywhere else (free fire zone).
Then Sullivan takes on John McCain's performance during the debate last night.
It seems to me that McCain's passion on torture has peaked as his belief in the "surge" rises. It's as if he knows he cannot be anti-war and anti-torture at the same time and win over Republicans. But the problem is: he is so wedded to a maximalist Iraq strategy that he would be very vulnerable next year in a general. There are a number of fair-minded Americans happy to hope for the best in Iraq; but I can't see more than a handful who actually, at this point, think of it as something we'd do again if we had the chance of a do-over. McCain is giving the impression that it's another great advance for mankind. Wishing doesn't make it so, alas.
Gee. There used to be Republicans even Democrats could be proud of. BN and BR. Before Nixon and Before Reagan. Just associating "pride" with "Republicans" these days must seem utterly ridiculous to any intelligent American born after 1970.
