How odd:Watching the Charlie Rose show tonight, where he interviews John Burns and Dexter Filkins about Iraq, they pretty much take the view that the "surge" was a success. In fact, they make a big deal about how much better things are. To support that view, they cite many ugly events that were a regular occurrence in 2005 (daily killings, torture, people scared to be out on the streets, etc.) But the odd thing is,
that kind of pessimistic assessment was virtually absent from the Charlie Rose show in 2005.
posted by Quiddity at 4/10/2008 12:52:00 AM
Burns and Filkins may think it's all about their experiences in Iraq as they put together book proposals. Perhaps they should look at it from the perspective of the Iraqis and their needs for water, electricity, oil, garbage removal, sewage treament, schools, infrastucture, etc, in other words, walk in their shoes instead of the Green Zone perspective.
I watched a rerun of this Charlie Rose program and confirmed my original reaction that both Burns and Filkins were promoting their experiences for professional profit by way of books and speeches. Their times in the Green Zone have become their profit centers.
And don't you just love Burns' perm?
