Korb: Petraeus Cannot Be Trusted To Give Unbiased Assessment On Iraq

[cal04]

Both Democrats and Republicans have begun rallying around a September deadline to reassess Bush’s Iraq strategy. Whether the September reassessment successfully results in a drawdown currently depends on whether Gen. David Petraeus, the commanding general in Iraq, issues a candid report about the deteriorating conditions resulting from the surge. Already, Petraeus has said that his report will not say “anything definitive.”

Center for American Progress Senior Fellow and former Reagan Pentagon official Lawrence Korb writes in the Philadelphia Inquirer today that Petraeus cannot be trusted to deliver an unbiased report:

Many lawmakers will formulate their position on the basis of a coming report from Gen. David Petraeus, commander of the multinational force, to the president. Unfortunately, based on behavior in his last command in Iraq and the manner in which he received his current position, Petraeus is not a reliable source for an unbiased assessment.

As evidence, Korb cites the fact that just before the 2004 election, Petraeus wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post proclaiming there was “tangible progress” because Iraqi forces were “stepping forward.” Korb writes, “If Petraeus wrote on his own initiative, he was injecting himself improperly into a political campaign. If he was encouraged or even allowed to do this by his civilian superiors, he was allowing himself to be used for partisan political purposes.”

That wasn’t an isolated incident. Patreaus has allowed himself to be used as a “political prop” to support the White House’s war czar nominee. And, Petraeus has echoed President Bush’s line that al Qaeda, not sectarian civil war, is the greatest threat in Iraq — an assessment that contradicts the intelligence.

more
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/05/25/korb-on-petraeus/

Petraeus' potential conflict
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20070525_Petraeus_potential_conflict.html

[kenny blankenship]

1. No General would ever say "this isn't worth it: you should stop sending me money and men"

It doesn't matter what kind of shit has been happening over there, the General will want it to continue. He is going to claim that A) progress is being made B) more needs to be done and C)patience is needed.
And because he's wearing a fucking uniform instead of being a normal killer in street clothes, Congressmen will talk to him in deferential tones like he's a great spiritual teacher, hedge fund wizard, and inventor of cancer cures all rolled up into one. They will thank him for taking time out to deliver his "convincing case" for not "throwing away all the progress we have made".

[old guy]

2. Duh, Ya think!

Thats why he got job in the first place.