This is a positive profile of ambassador Crocker that claims, like most other credible articles, that he is competent. Being competent isn't the same as being right and the reporter doesn't claim that it is.

I have a big beef with this article. It is that the author either doesn't know about or doesn't care to mention the true nature of the oil agreement the US is trying to get Iraq to pass. It is monstrously exploitive, giving ownership of some 70% of Iraqi oil to foreign oil companies. That fact influences everything else discussed.

DeYoung is an excellent reporter. This profile, focused on Crocker, gives great insight into the hearings beginning today, putting them in a larger context.

Good writing, biased approach. State department line all the way. No alternative views.