Sometimes a newspaper article that seems like a straightforward follow-up to recent news events is, in fact, the product of weeks and months of effort aimed at producing the right story at the right time. So it was in The Sun last Sunday. David Wood, the newspaper's Pentagon correspondent, produced an incisive report explaining the challenges the United States will face if and when it pulls its military forces out of Iraq.
One military official told Wood that a pullout would be like moving the city of Los Angeles - a startling comparison that put the scope of the mission into perspective for readers. The article, "Iraq: The Road Out," was rich with detail previously unreported elsewhere. These details were sobering to ponder just as leaders from both political parties began to debate a possible withdrawal from Iraq.
The article's genesis began early this year after Wood had returned from a reporting trip to Iraq. Wood and Marcia Myers, the paper's assistant managing editor for national/foreign news, agreed that among other things, the media had not adequately assessed the potential challenge of a withdrawal. After further discussions, top Sun editors approved Wood's return to Iraq in April and May for another round of on-site reporting.
Wood continued working when he returned to Washington, and he completed a draft of the article earlier this month. By Monday, July 10, several key Republicans had begun to openly question U.S. strategy in Iraq as Democrats again pushed for definite withdrawal timetables. Even as President Bush offered a report showing that some progress was being made in Iraq, an increasing number of members of Congress were debating troop withdrawals.
In this context, Wood and Myers began the intensive process of final writing and editing. On Friday, July 13, Editor Tim Franklin gave the green light to make the story the Sunday Page One centerpiece. The article discussed the fact that the withdrawal of troops and supplies could take 20 months; that the risks to the troops were high; that the logistics were monumentally complicated; and that planning for such a large operation was minimal.
Reader Jacob Hornstein's comments reflected others' reaction: "I admire and appreciate the brilliance of Mr. Wood's reporting and The Sun's wisdom in sending him to Baghdad to investigate this subject. After reading this piece it seems obvious that it will be impossible to bring all that complicated equipment and material out of Iraq. The only concern we should have is trying to get our troops out alive."
From Ray Hamilton: "Excellent article. The topic is important and timely. The sources are competent and varied. The details are fascinating. The reporting is detailed, organized and compelling."
Mr. Hamilton's assessment of Wood's piece is, in my view, absolutely right. Wood has covered dozens of conflicts during his career, including the 1991 Gulf War and the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which gave him firsthand knowledge of what it takes to move an army in and out of a war zone.
"There are few things more impressive than a giant military maneuver, which pretty much characterizes both of those operations," Wood said last week. "So as the issue of 'withdrawal' from Iraq started coming up last winter, my antenna began buzzing. And I didn't buy the assurances of Pentagon officials that this would all be easy, that withdrawal is a 'normal' military operation and that all previous problems with massive military movements had been fixed. I was skeptical."
During his assignments in Iraq, Wood, lived, traveled and talked extensively with the people who would oversee a pullout - those who run truck convoys, load airplanes, disassemble buildings, and feed and organize troops getting on and off airplanes. After getting a detailed sense of how complicated the process would be, Wood began to understand something else: "While each guy knows his own part of the job, there needs to be a big strategic plan - and there isn't one."
The article also was valuable for readers because of its limited use of unnamed sources. This was difficult because in a story like this, a source could possibly lose a job or could be denied a promotion if identified. And when Wood decided that anonymity was appropriate, he identified the sources as precisely as possible.
Another smart decision by Wood and his editors was to remind readers that the war is costing $12 billion a month - a figure that will increase when and if a withdrawal begins. Recent articles about a government report documenting the $12 billion monthly figure were, in my view, underplayed by The Sun, so it was especially relevant here.
Said Wood: "I especially liked this story because it was one of those rare times when you can provide a direct service to readers on a very contentious and emotional issue, providing new insights that will help people make up their own minds."
Paul Moore's column appears Sundays.