John Burns is rightly regarded as the preeminent war correspondent of his time. I interviewed him in the first hour today, and he is certainly the best representative the MSM can put forward in response to critiques like this one by James Q. Wilson.
His interviews with Charlie Rose and Bill Maher ought to be watched by every participant in the debate over Iraq, and his warnings about the aftermath of a precipitous American withdrawal from Iraq are markers that will not be able to be ignored if the United States again bugs out as it did in Vietnam and Cambodia. Burns' assessment as well that the failure in Iraq --if it occurs-- will not be the result of America's mistakes is similarly bracing. There is much, much more as well, as one would expect from Burns.
The transcript will be posted later here, and the audio here.