Williams Sees 'Tremendous Victories,' But Frustrated by Question: 'How's the War Going?'

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NBC anchor Brian Williams, on Tuesday's Daily Show, recognized that there are “tremendous local victories” in Iraq, but told Jon Stewart the constant suicide bombings killing scores of civilians leave him unable to answer the question: “How's the war going?” But, “when you look at the big picture you wonder how it's ever going to work?” Asked by Stewart about his March trip to Iraq, Williams offered a colorful detail about pleadings from Iraqi women as he answered:

“We go to Ramadi and Iraqi women, unprompted, didn't know who I was, come up and say in Arabic to the American commander, 'please don't ever leave us. Don't leave this town.' They've gone block by block talking to the Imans, making the town safe. Same day: I fly back with an American four-star General, we get to Baghdad to hear that 93 Shia pilgrims have been killed by two vest bombers. And then you come home after eight days and people say, 'How's the war going?' And how are you ever going to sum that up? You have tremendous local victories, and yet when you look at the big picture you wonder how it's ever going to work?"

Two previous NewsBusters items recounted what Williams reported in March from Iraq on the NBC Nightly News. The March 5 posting, “NBC: Iraqis Want U.S. to Stay and Insurgents Counting on Help from War Opponents,” relayed:

“Williams ran a clip of Army Colonel John Charlton proclaiming that Iraqis 'do not want us to leave' and a soundbite from Army Lt. Colonel Charles Ferry who asserted: 'The people here are very glad to see us.' Williams marveled: 'You just said, 'They don't want us to leave.' That's the tenth time today I've heard that. I've got to go back to the States and do a newscast that every night has another politician or 12 of them saying, 'We have got to get out of that godforsaken place.'”

The next day, “NBC Highlights Troops Who Support U.S. Presence in Iraq,” summarized:

“On Tuesday's NBC Nightly News, anchor Brian Williams, reporting from Baghdad, delivered a refreshing end to the show as he showcased several U.S. troops who voiced support for their work in Iraq, and for America continuing its presence there. While Williams did present one soldier who was less than enthusiastic about the mission, other troops, featured in pre-recorded soundbites, spoke of 'staying until the job is done,' and of feeling 'proud' about helping the Iraqis.”

The exchange about Iraq on the June 19 Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Comedy Central:

BRIAN WILLIAMS: I've come to enjoy going over there because otherwise I wouldn't be exposed to the folks who are fighting this war for us, to the folks who volunteered to fight this war for us. And I found a way to go over that guarantees my safety as much as anyone can. You know, Bob Woodruff of ABC is a very good friend of mine and I look at him and think, 'but by the grace of God.' And I was the first reporter in about six months to walk down the main drag of Ramadi. And we had F-16s overhead and gunships on either side and there were four members of the Third Infantry Division who had me to protect and I thank them for my life.

STEWART: So it is like, as Mike Pence the Congressman said, like a summer time market in Indiana. Very similar.

WILLIAMS: But I tell you what. We go to Ramadi and Iraqi women, unprompted, didn't know who I was, come up and say in Arabic to the American commander, 'please don't ever leave us. Don't leave this town.' They've gone block by block talking to the Imans, making the town safe. Same day: I fly back with an American four-star General, we get to Baghdad to hear that 93 Shia pilgrims have been killed by two vest bombers. And then you come home after eight days and people say, 'How's the war going?' And how are you ever going to sum that up? You have tremendous local victories, and yet when you look at the big picture you wonder how it's ever going to work?