General Batiste: Let's Not Conflate al-Qaeda and Iraqi Insurgents

[RamboLiberal]

At an acrimonious hearing underway of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on the surge, retired Major General John Batiste, a former division commander in Iraq turned critic of the war, got on the administration's case for recently attributing most violence in Iraq to al-Qaeda. The audio gets a little screwy, but bear with us:

I also believe we cannot attribute all the violence in Iraq to al-Qaeda. There's a tendency now to lump it all together, and call it al-Qaeda. We have to be very careful with that. This is a very complex region. al-Qaeda is certainly a component. But there's larger components. al-Qaeda is a worldwide organization. It recognizes no national boundaries. And it's in areas where we ought to be focused.

For this and his other skeptical remarks about the surge -- Batiste said the current effort in Iraq is "destroying our military, with little to show for it" -- Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN) questioned Batiste's credibility, attacking commercials he made for VoteVets, an antiwar military PAC, calling it an effort to "elect Democrats." Batiste replied that he is a "die-hard Republican," and made VoteVets "bipartisan" by joining it. His participation in the group, he said, is "a wake-up call to some Republicans who don't understand the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan."

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/003537.php

[Elspeth]

1. Thank you, General Batiste.

Now let's get them home.

[redqueen]

2. So glad he's not a coward.

We need more people speaking truth to power.

[Disturbed]

3. "he is a "die-hard Republican."

He is a rare breed. A Rethug that speaks truth to power.

[redqueen]

4. Think he's been threatened?

Or do those guys just burn people's houses down assuming they'll get the point?

Either way, this guy hasn't caved... and for that I am thankful.