Danger in Iraq Isolates Reporters

By: Joe Strupp The fighting in and around Baghdad has gotten so bad that reporters are growing out of touch with the nation's regular citizens, said Washington Post veteran foreign correspondent Anthony Shadid, during a panel discussion Friday at the American Society of Newspaper Editors conference here. "You are starting to see a little bit of a siege mentality," he said about reporters in the Iraqi capital. "Reporters are too secluded from the country they are covering."

During a Q&A session, the panel was asked what advice they would give to probable Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry about the Iraq issue -- which opponents say he has flip-flopped on by both supporting the war at one point and later voting against extra funding. "I would stop saying, 'turn it over to the United Nations' because it is embarrassing," said Trudy Rubin, an editorial writer and columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer (Click for QuikCap). "The U.N. has made it clear that they are only willing to play a very minor role. They are not willing to take over the running of the country."

Eliot Cohen, professor and director of strategic studies at Johns Hopkins University, offered the same advice, while also suggesting Kerry make his position clearer. "Say why he was in favor of the war and stop waffling about it," he said.

Other comments related to the uncertainty of Iraq's future, including the continued mounting casualties of American soldiers, little planning for the June 30 scheduled transfer of power, and disagreement over how to negotiate with different factions within the Iraq citizenry.

"Iraqis have to be re-engaged in this," said Rubin, noting that most are not expecting much on June 30. "The United States is at a crucial point here -- a turnover to what is unclear."

Cohen agreed, stating "they have only spoken in the vaguest possible ways about what is achievable. We will probably have -- at best -- a place that will be a real mess."

Several panelists also took the administration to task for straining relations with Shiite leader Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. "We have lost him because we are not talking up his concerns," said Ken Pollack, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. "He is extremely important and has been the most important ally we have."

Rubin, meanwhile, urged the administration to lay down specific goals and a certain timeline. "You have to convince Iraqis that they are headed for a legitimate process," he said.