This Mean You, Joe

THIS MEANS YOU, JOE....Jonathan Finer, former Baghdad correspondent for the Washington Post, writes today that he's a little tired of grand pronouncements from pundits and politicians who parachute into Iraq for a 3-day dog and pony show:

It goes without saying that everyone can, and in this country should, have an opinion about the war, no matter how much time the person has spent in Iraq, if any. But having left a year ago, I've stopped pretending to those who ask that I have a keen sense of what it's like on the ground today. Similarly, those who pass quickly through the war zone should stop ascribing their epiphanies to what are largely ceremonial visits.