No Surge Protectors in the Times' Baghdad Bureau
Monday's lead story by Alissa Rubin and the Times' resident surge pessimist Edward Wong, "Patterns of War Shift in Iraq Amid Buildup of U.S. Force - Military Fatalities Grow in Baghdad in a Struggle to Create an Island of Calm" is suffused with Wong's usual pessimism about the prospects for success for the troop surge in Baghdad.
"Nearly two months into the new security push in Baghdad, there has been some success in reducing the number of death squad victims found crumpled in the streets each day.
"And while the overall death rates for all of Iraq have not dropped significantly, largely because of devastating suicide bombings, a few parts of the capital have become calmer as some death squads have decided to lie low.
"But there is little sign that the Baghdad push is accomplishing its main purpose: to create an island of stability in which Sunni Arabs, Shiite Arabs and Kurds can try to figure out how to run the country together. There has been no visible move toward compromise on the main dividing issues, like regional autonomy and more power sharing between Shiites and Sunnis.
"For American troops, Baghdad has become a deadlier battleground as they have poured into the capital to confront Sunni and Shiite militias on their home streets. The rate of American deaths in the city over the first seven weeks of the security plan has nearly doubled from the previous period, though it has stayed roughly the same over all, decreasing in other parts of the country as troops have focused on the capital.
"American commanders say it will be months before they can draw conclusions about the campaign to secure Baghdad, and just more than half of the so-called surge of nearly 30,000 additional troops into the country have arrived. But at the same time, political pressure in the United States for quick results and a firm troop pullout date has become more intense than ever.
Journalist Mickey Kausdocumented the Times' knee-jerk negativity: "The NYT 's Alissa Rubin and Edward Wong learn the Nikki Finke Lesson (you can't pronounce something a failure too soon)....Note how the lede says Baghdad is partly calmer 'as some death squads have decided to lie low' - leaving the reader with the impression that of course they will be back. But the body of the piece also notes that '[m]any militia leaders have been detained in raids by the American military...' Why emphasize only the pessimistic explanation? I suspect Lede Tweaking by New York editors."
