Posted on 08/14/2007 7:16:12 PM PDT by bnelson44
Gen. David Petraeus’s report on the state of President Bush’s troop surge in Iraq won’t come out for another month, but with so much riding on its findings, lawmakers on both sides are already spinning its meaning.
Lawmakers are trying to anticipate what the top U.S. commander in Iraq will say in the report, gaming out how the other side will spin it, and then trying to figure out how to react to the spin.
Led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Democrats say they fear that Bush’s handpicked commander in Iraq will paint an unreasonably rosy picture of the progress on the ground.
“I’m very concerned that they will kick the can further down the road or talk about a few anecdotal successes that they’ll try to pass off as the situation in Iraq,” Pelosi told a group of journalists recently.
Republicans say that the Democrats are unwilling to accept the good news that’s coming in about Bush’s initiative. U.S. commanders are already touting that large, al Qaeda-style attacks have dropped 50 percent since the troop increase
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
Do you think they ever stop... in mid prayer... on their knees... hands clasped together... eyes shut tight... begging whatever god they pray to... “Please don’t let it be good news”. Do you think they ever stop... and shiver just a little?
One issue on which the general, like Mr. Crocker, is likely to part with proponents of an early American withdrawal is on the risk of much higher levels of violence if the troops leave quickly. In an interview last month, Mr. Crocker compared the killing to a five-reel movie, saying that “as ugly as the first reel has been the other four-and-a-half are going to be way, way worse.”
Speaking to the officers at Taji, General Petraeus put the matter just as bluntly. “If you didn’t like Darfur, you’re going to hate Baghdad,” he said.
“Led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Democrats say they fear that Bush’s handpicked commander in Iraq will paint an unreasonably rosy picture of the progress on the ground. “
That Democrats voted for.
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