Gen. David Petraeus is surrounded by photographers as he arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, Sept. 10, 2007, to testify before the House Armed Services Committee hearing on the future course of the war in Iraq. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Posted on 09/10/2007 10:41:23 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - Gen. David Petraeus went before Congress on Monday to deliver his long-awaited assessment of Iraq, greeted by Democrats who praised him while sharply criticizing the war he commands.
The four-star general sat a few feet away as Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., described him as "almost certainly the right man for the job in Iraq." But, he added, "he's the right person three years too late and 250,000 troops short."
Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., hailed Petraeus and a second witness, Ambassador Ryan Crocker, as "two of our nation's most capable public servants."
And yet, he quickly said, "military progress without political progress is meaningless....We need to get out of Iraq, for that country's sake and for our own."
Skelton is chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, while Lantos chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Rep. Duncan Hunter of California was the first Republican to speak, and he criticized unnamed Democrats for having criticized Petraeus in advance of the nationally televised hearing.
He said the military gains in recent months had produced gains by Iraqis, including an army that is "beginning to emerge as a professional force."
The introductory remarks by the lawmakers reflected the deep divisions in Congress over a war that has claimed the lives of more than 3,700 U.S. troops.
Petraeus patiently listened to the politicians for a time before he could speak, the commander of 165,000 troops also heckled and criticized by anti-war critics.
"Tell the truth, general," shouted protesters as the four-star general made his way into the crowded hearing room.
Petraeus did not respond, either to them or to the sole heckler who interrupted the session in its opening seconds.
Skelton ordered the room be cleared of protestors. "Out they go," he said.
A moderate midwesterner, Skelton blended his praise for the general with sharp questions about the military mission he leads.
"Tell us why we should continue sending our young men and women to fight and die if the Iraqis won't make the tough sacrifices leading to reconciliation."
"....Are we merely beating a dead horse?" the congressman asked.
Petraeus' greeting elsewhere wasn't nearly as warm as Skelton's praise.
"Cooking the books for the White House," charged the newspaper advertisement by MoveOn.Org — an allegation that Republicans swiftly challenged Democrats to disavow.
"These childish tactics are an insult to everyone fighting for our freedom in Iraq, and they should be condemned," said Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader.
The ad and ensuing political scuffling served as a backdrop for Petraeus' long-awaited assessment of troop buildup that President Bush ordered last January.
"It has not worked out as we had hoped," the four-star general wrote the men and women under his command late last week. He said that the pace of political reform among Iraqi politicians has been disappointing.
Among the major unanswered questions as Petraeus settled into the witness chair was how many U.S. troops could begin to withdraw, and how quickly.
Democrats generally favor more, and faster. So far, Republicans have been generally willing to stick with Bush, who has argued insistently against a withdrawal deadline.
The appearance of Petraeus, more than Crocker, took on outsized importance. As both the architect and the commander of last winter's shift in strategy, he has won praise from lawmakers in both parties, and opinion polls show he has more credibility with the public on the war than Bush.
Democrats have been critical of Petraeus, but not nearly as scathing — or as personal — as the MoveOn advertisement.
"General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" it asked, a wordplay on his name.
On Sunday, Democrats sharply questioned Bush administration assertions that seven months of troop increases might be working, citing continuing violence and al-Maliki's political woes. They said they would not back off efforts to set target dates for bringing troops home.
"The reality is that, although there has been some mild progress on the security front, there is, in fact, no real security in Baghdad or Anbar province," said Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., a 2008 presidential candidate who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter, a moderate Republican, said he respected Petraeus' judgment but would not blindly follow it.
"We're going to look behind the generalizations that General Petraeus or anybody gives us and probe the very hard facts to see exactly what the situation is," Specter said. "As I've said in the past, unless we see some light at the end of the tunnel here, very closely examining what General Petraeus and others have to say, I think there's a general sense that there needs to be a new policy."
In their long-awaited report to Congress, Petraeus and Crocker will say the buildup of 30,000 troops, which brings the U.S. total to nearly 170,000, is working better than any previous effort to quell the insurgency and restore stability, according to the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing internal deliberations.
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 how he will proceed in the face of growing congressional discomfort with the war.
The hearing happened as a poll released Monday showed that an overwhelming numbers of Iraqis say the U.S. troop buildup has worsened security and the prospects for economic and political progress in their country.
Forty-seven percent of those surveyed in a poll conducted by ABC News, Britain's BBC, and Japan's public broadcaster NHK said they want American forces and their coalition allies to leave the country immediately. This was 12 percent more people than harbored those views in a March poll, just as the troop increase was beginning. And 57 percent — including nearly all Sunnis and half of Shiites — said they consider attacks on coalition forces acceptable, a slight increase over the past half year.
Gen. David Petraeus is surrounded by photographers as he arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, Sept. 10, 2007, to testify before the House Armed Services Committee hearing on the future course of the war in Iraq. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
LANTOS did NOT RESPECT our GENERAL. He is a POS.
I have called santos office, and cannot repeat what I told the local lady here in california... I could not get the washington office to answer...they must be getting a flood of calls... The lady here in california said she had been getting a lot of calls. Duncan Hunter for President...
Lantos is a lunatic.
correction please...Lantos not Santos.. sorry
Lantos got slapped down by Hunter and deservingly so.
Is there anyone or anything that the dems will not defile or trash to regain their power?
I am so livid right now, I can’t have a good discussion. I am past being tired of these Moonbats. They MUST be stopped.
BULLSH!T! Anyone with an ear that works knows that dims have called the General a LIAR and political hack. SCREW EVERY LIVING AND BREATHING dim and those that are DEAD but still VOTE!
LLS
LLS
It is very easy to hate these people as they cowardly sit there and enjoy the freedom that others have paid in the form of shed blood to give them. In my mind they are not worth of that sacrifice. However, as was said, they will defile anything of worth and value for personal selfish gain. This includes the cowardly politicians who do not rebuke them. They are deluded, and they will continue to soil anything in an effort for personal gain. One needs to be aware of this and move on. No need to boil over it. It is what it is.
You are NOT alone my brother... NOT alone!
LLS
People like that communist Lantos take their swipes at the General who is making progress in a very, very, difficult job. Meanwhile, the Dems can’t manage to get the microphones to work nor can they keep order in their hearing. A third set of Code-Pink protesters, dressed like a freak show from San Fran, just got tossed as the General finished his presentation.
Cherry-picked and out of context. Typical AP.
There is going to be trouble....they are only throwing out Dems!
I smell a lawsuit.....
If Harry Reid believes that Petraeus is LYING to Congress, he had better take legal action against Petraeus. Otherwise he’d better shut up and end his own treasonous act.
I heard a great quote from Hunter on ABC radio a bit ago also. More direct than this one.
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