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The press often gets a bum rap when accused of one-sided or biased coverage. That said, sometimes papers really open themselves up for it. Take a look at the first part of a fluff piece in today's Washington Post.

They operate like journalists on the scene, outdoing think tank pundits by delivering crucial analysis in real time from Kabul or Kiev. They are not diplomats, politicians or spies, but they have carved out a position of global authority for themselves.

They are the specialists and advocates of the International Crisis Group, a unique nongovernmental organization. The group, based in Brussels, was founded in part to avert a repeat of the tragic bloodshed that unfolded in the Balkans during international dithering over the conflict in the early 1990s.

Now in its 10th year, the ICG has grown from 20 employees to 110 staff members from 40 countries. The group sends field officers to areas of potential and actual conflict, and it provides officials and opinion-makers with the prognosis for world crises before they erupt, along with precise recommendations for how to avoid them.

Its experts get face time with big players in the White House and the State Department, as well as in other international corridors of power.

The Post better have gotten some primo ad dollars out of running that, because you know that it's going into the next ICG flyer.