due to the similar sounding names:
 Gen. David H. Petraeus |
 Sen. Joe Betrayus |
Posted on 09/09/2007 10:06:00 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - President Bush's war strategy is failing and the top military commander in Iraq is "dead flat wrong" for warning against major changes, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said Sunday.
Ahead of two days of crucial testimony by Bush's leading military and political advisers on Iraq, Sen. Joseph Biden indicated that he and other Democrats would persist in efforts to set target dates for bringing troops home.
"The reality is that although there's been some mild security progress, there is in fact no security in Baghdad or Anbar province where I was dealing with the most serious problem, sectarian violence," said Biden, a 2008 presidential candidate who recently returned from Iraq.
Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker were scheduled to testify before four congressional committees, including Biden's, on Monday and Tuesday. Lawmakers will hear how the commander and the diplomat assess progress in Iraq and offer recommendations about the course of war strategy.
Officials familiar with their thinking told The Associated Press over the weekend that the advisers would urge Congress not to make significant changes. Their report will note that while national political progress has been disappointing, security gains in local areas have shown promise, according to the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing internal deliberations.
Petraeus and Crocker will say the buildup of 30,000 troops, which bring the current U.S. total to nearly 170,000, is working better than any previous effort to quell the insurgency and restore stability. The officials also disputed suggestions that Petraeus and Crocker would recommend anything more than a symbolic reduction in troop levels and then only in the spring.
The testimony sets the stage for an announcement by Bush later in the week about he will proceed in the face of widespread public unhappiness and growing congressional discomfort with the war.
Biden, signaling that tough questioning awaits the pair from majority Democrats and moderate Republicans, said Petraeus' assessment missed the point. Biden, D-Del., said focusing on a political solution, such as by creating more local control, was the only way to foster national reconciliation among warring factions.
"I really respect him, but I think he's dead flat wrong," Biden said.
Biden contended that Bush's main strategy was to buy time and extend the troop presence in Iraq long enough to push the burden onto the next president, who takes office in January 2009, to fix the sectarian strife.
"This president has no plan — how to win and how to leave," Biden said.
Stressing that a political solution was the key, he said, "I will insist on a firm beginning to withdraw the troops and I will insist on a target date to get American combat forces out," except for those necessary to protect U.S. civilians and fight al-Qaida.
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., agreed. "The problem is, if you don't have a deadline and you don't require something of the Iraqis, they're simply going to use our presence as cover for their willingness to delay, which is what they have done month after month after month," he said.
"I think the general will present the facts with respect to the statistics and the tactical successes or situations as he sees them," Kerry said. "But none of us should be fooled — not the American people, not you in the media, not us in Congress — we should not be fooled into this tactical success debate."
But Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he trusts the military judgment of Petraeus and that it was foolish for Congress to try and second-guess commanders on the ground.
In the end, Graham said, the U.S. cannot afford to withdraw prematurely if it is military unwise and risks plunging the region into more chaos.
"If the general tells me down the road we can withdraw troops because of military success, we should all celebrate it," Graham said. "But if politicians in Washington pick an arbitrary date, an arbitrary number to withdraw, it's not going to push Baghdad politicians.
"It's going to re-energize an enemy that's on the map," he said.
Biden spoke on NBC's "Meet the Press," Kerry appeared on ABC's "This Week," and Graham was on "Fox News Sunday."
bttt
‘Jumpin’ the Gun’ Joe Biden,, the report isn’t even out yet.
Gen. David H. Petraeus |
Sen. Joe Betrayus |
Oh now, what about his nephew, the dumbest Kennedy. Pretty difficult to under IQ him? Look for him to move into the family compound so he can succeeed the whale as senator from MASS.
No one is dumber than Barbara Boxer!
No “Copperhead” as the Democrats of the Civil War were called. I think it fits.
Rebuttal Exhibit A:
Biden really is dumber than a stone, but there are quite a few idiots pretending to be Lawmakers. We need term limits.
Any chance Biden will join Warner and Hagel?
Man! This is rich. Joe Biden’s party is the same party that have not come up with any legislation yet that was not guaranteed, designed to lose. A party who have not one thing they have accomplished since they took majority. The Democrat party is a party of losers.
...and now they are stooping so low to call our commanders in Iraq liars and stooges. I sure hope this country is paying attention to who these freaks really are.
Dream on, lol, you’ll have to drag him out of the Senate when it’s his time..
And, even if I’ve never been right about anything in my entire life, I’m a LOT better at military strategy than any General Officer alive or dead.
I heard Biden this morning on MTP. He said that we should abandon the Central Government and focus on building up the States’ governments. Isn’t this what Coservatives should have been saying all along?
Strong central governments have always been the foes of personal liberty. Whatever government is needed should always be as close to the people as possible. Decentralization is the FRIEND of liberty. Maybe we’re stumbling toward the RIGHT answer despite ourselves.
Much better than this; focus on the individuals and give all the oil resources to law-abiding citizens in a privatization of the oil fields.
Actually, this quotation blew me away even more than Biden chastising a US General:
“there is in fact no security in Baghdad or Anbar province where I was dealing with the most serious problem, sectarian violence.”
Are you kidding me? Joe Biden was dealing with sectarian violence??? How? Did this US Senator just claim that HE was dealing with sectarian violence. Yep, folks. That’s right. Joe Biden strapped on his boots, put on his uniform, grabbed his gun, and dealth with sectarian violence.
And no US General understands the problem better than Joe Biden!
No one is dumber than Barbara Boxer!
WRONG!!! Maxine Waters gets my vote for tht award. And Cybthia Mc Kinney runs a close second.
Joe Biden: “Are you going to believe me or your own lying eyes?!?”
I think that this may more accurately describe the dims' "thinking" (such as it is):
They are so sure of don't care what General Petraeus is going to report that and they will not even consider the evidence.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.