[BCrago66]

John Burns, an Austrailian, is a great reporter, standing apart from the rest of the crowd at the NYTimes.

[saquin]

John Burns is one of the few reporters I really trust on the subject of Iraq. Even while Hussein was still in power, and other reporters were sucking up to the regime thugs, Burns told it like it was.

[VaMarVet]

"Is this do-able?" he said. "You'd better believe it."

BTTT - great post.

[solzhenitsyn]

Nice article, BC. Thanks, and Merry Christmas!

[Free Vulcan]

"Western reporters, he implied, had come to an early conclusion that the allied undertaking in Iraq would not succeed, and had failed to adjust."

It's this failure to adjust by the media and their leftist toadies that is going to lead Bush to a second term.

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

"Is this do-able?" he said. "You'd better believe it."

The British officer described himself as neither optimist nor pessimist but "a hard-boiled realist," then offered an upbeat assessment that matched that of American generals: "I think we're in great shape."
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John Burns ~ in the New York Times (!)

Related: 8 Conditions Improve in Southeastern Iraq, Says British General ~ DoD | 12/23/03
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Message for my patient good news ping list crew.  

[dighton]

Western reporters, he implied, had come to an early conclusion that the allied undertaking in Iraq would not succeed, and had failed to adjust. He compared this with criticism that greeted allied forces in the first stages of the spring invasion, when resistance stalled the drive to Baghdad.

The plan provided for 125 days to take Baghdad, and it was accomplished in 23 days, he noted. But, he told reporters, “you had us dead and buried in seven days.”

[68skylark]

The plan provided for 125 days to take Baghdad, and it was accomplished in 23 days, he noted. But, he told reporters, "you had us dead and buried in seven days."

God I just love the reporting of John Burns -- he's truly a straight shooter, and even a hero. And I can't think of any other reporter I'd say that about.

Am I reading too much into the excerpt above, or is Burns taking a swipe at the NY Times itself by including this quote in his article? Their own "military affairs" reporter pronounced the whold Afghan war a quagmire right before we won a smashing victory in Afghanistan. Then the same reporter repeated the same feat by declaring the Iraq war a quagmire right before we won one of the most smashing victories in all human history. That was a laughable performance by the Times, and they haven't apologized for that as far as I know.