On NPR, a Cautious NYT Optimist and a WashPost Pessimist on Iraq: 'Holding Steady in Hell'

On Tuesday, National Public Radio displayed two very different takes on the current situation in Iraq from reporters for The New York Times and the Washington Post.

John Burns of The New York Times was the cautious optimist on the Tuesday edition of NPR’s Day to Day (in partnership with the liberal site Slate.com):

As for Senator Lugar's assessment that they've overestimated what they can do, I think it's a little early to say that. In the last few days I've been at several places around Baghdad where the offensives are underway. I've been out in Ramadi, where as you know, Anbar province has been the most remarkable reduction in violence. And there's no doubt that this surge is having an effect, that al-Qaida for the time being at least appears to be on the back foot. Can that be sustained? Probably too early to tell.

It's worth remembering that the surge troops, the last of them, went operational on June the 15th. That's only about, as you know, 10 days ago. These offensives are likely to continue for 60 to 90 days. So I think it's fair to say that the military has scored some spectacular gains in Anbar, which I hope they can export to Diyala, and to the areas south of Baghdad, where al-Qaida have major strongholds, and we'll see where it goes.

Thomas Ricks of The Washington Post was the deliverer of doom on NPR’s Talk of the Nation on the same day:  

I think the biggest single thing that struck me was on every previous trip, I think I've been on seven previous trips to Iraq, every time I've been there, things have been notably worse than on the previous trip. People always say it can't get any worse than this, and it did. First thing that struck me was it's not any better, but it's not any worse than it was, the last time I was there.

The second thing that struck me - I mean, you know, but we're talking about degrees of hell, basically. You know? It hadn't descended from the ninth to the 10th circle. It is still on the ninth circle of hell. It's not a great improvement to us to be holding steady in hell.

Ricks acknowledged that violence is down in Anbar, but didn't have any confidence about the bigger picture. Both reporters expressed disappointment that there weren’t better political developments on the ground, a "surge" in the Iraqi government that would compare to the American troop surge.