Utterly Useless
According to the American Prospect’s Paul Waldman, David Petraeus’ report is almost useless because Waldman thinks that Gen. Petraeus is part of the Bush administration. to his credit, Waldman stopped short of accusing Gen. Petraeus of being a liar. Here’s what he did say:
Without many arguments left in the well, the White House will be hiding behind Petraeus, just as President Bush has been since the general took the job seven months ago. At first the administration didn’t want Petraeus to publicly testify about his report, perhaps because it was concerned he might be a little too forthcoming about what is really happening in Iraq. But now the administration seems to have come to its senses, realizing that either Democrats will be cowed into deference by the blinding glare created by all those ribbons and the glittering aura of Petraeus’ reputation, or they will question him harshly, at which point they can be accused of hating the troops and their saintly, infallible commander.
Don’t interpret my sarcasm to mean that I think Gen. Petraeus is cut from the same dishonest cloth as the rest of the Bush administration. But by this time he is, most certainly, part of that administration. There has never been much dispute over the fact that throughout his career he has been a capable and accomplished, even brilliant, officer. But Petraeus was selected for his current job because of his willingness to support “the surge” (even today, saying it gives you that little shot of testosterone, the scent of victory wafting into your nose). And if he has any desire to keep his job, he will be sure to deliver the message the White House wants.
What a dimwitted statement to say that Gen. Petraeus got picked for this job because he was willing to “support ‘the surge’”. Gen. Petraeus didn’t just support it. He authored it. That’s a rather significant difference. It’s unfortunate that Mr. Waldman didn’t take off his partisan blinders. If he had, he might’ve noticed the difference. It wasn’t exactly difficult to spot.
For all the repeated incantations of “Let’s wait and see what Gen. Petraeus reports in September,” there’s little doubt about what he’ll say. The report, in whatever form it is finally delivered, will caution that we have a long way to go, that serious problems remain, and that we wish we weren’t where we are today. However, it will say we’re making important progress, and we need to stay in Iraq for a good long time — at the bare minimum, until January of 2009, when the boiling cauldron of hatred and misery that is Iraq becomes some other president’s problem. The details of the report could vary (contents may settle during shipping, after all), but if you think its ultimate conclusions will be something other than a validation of “the surge” and the Bush administration’s larger strategy, you haven’t been paying attention.
It’s unfortunate that Mr. Waldman hasn’t been paying attention. In addition to the military progress that was made in Anbar months ago, real progress has been made in Diyala province, too. It isn’t just military progress that’s been made. Regional reconciliation has been gaining momentum, too.
The progress has been so widespread that Democrats are finding it impossible to argue that the surge isn’t working. In fact, they’ve had to change course on Iraq policy again. That isn’t helping voters build confidence in Democrats’ ability to run foreign policy.
Barring someone getting a spinal transplant, I don’t see that perception to change much between now and November, 2008.
Technorati Tags: David Petraeus, Surge, Reconciliation, Anbar Province, President Bush, Defeatocrats, American Prospect, Election 2008
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog
August 23rd, 2007 at 2:02 am
[...] Cross-posted at California Conservative Categories: Military, Iraq, President Bush, Media Bias, Election 2008, Defeatocrats, Victory Caucus | [...]
August 23rd, 2007 at 5:52 am
“…(even today, saying it gives you that little shot of testosterone, the scent of victory wafting into your nose)…”
Man, I love it when a jasmine-hearted (looks nice and smells great) critic uses terminology they can’t possibly know the meaning of, because they don’t have the critical philosophical equipment necessary for it.
Your analysis is spot-on, Gary.
August 23rd, 2007 at 8:09 am
I smile every day when I read stories like this. Seeing the Dems go down slowly, day by day is a wonderful thing. Keep up the good work and ‘truthful’ reporting.
August 23rd, 2007 at 10:05 am
Let’s give Mr. Waldman credit for original thinking. Referring to the Iraq, he said, “the boiling cauldron of hatred and misery that is Iraq.”
He didn’t use the word “quagmire” once, at least not in these excerpts!
August 23rd, 2007 at 6:26 pm
The Democrats are scared to death of any positive news coming from Iraq so they must discredit him, even though they confirmed him knowing he was going to initiate a troop surge. I find the fact that good news for America is bad news for Democrats disgusting.
August 24th, 2007 at 9:47 pm
Waldman’s piece was spot on, not this sorry excuse for partisan mockery and misguided narrow thinking. Of course, this is post >a href=”http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/24/washington/24policy.html?em&ex=1188100800&en=c89687fb330b86bf&ei=5087%0A”>National Intelligence Estimate release, which says
So, as expected, the report will doubtless say the surge is working… and it is, but to what end? With our soldiers over there in harms way, spilling American blood and emptying our treasury, what do the Iraqis do? Take a month off.
The prognosis for a unified Iraq with even a rudimentary government is so poor, that even General Pace and General Casey are recommending that we pull out half the troops, joining a growing chorus featuring Senator Warner, the next-latest entrant, when he said we should start pulling troops out.
Of course, this is what the Democrats were saying all along. What was the point in giving the al-Maliki government some breathing room, if they weren’t ready and capable of doing the heavy lifting? As usual, the
administrationBush cabal did no planning for what was supposed to happen once the surge “worked.” What a surprise.And the disgusting thing is that the republicans who supported everything that the presnit said or did before the mid-term elections gave no thought to what was going to happen, even though there were and are experts in Washington who have been trying to bring them the information they need to make these critical decisions. I guess this is when the republicans’ disdain for the educated elite shows its true cost to the nation: a stretched thin military, budget-busting special war appropriations, trapped in a quagmire, the rest of the civilized world furious with our stupidity, and last but certainly not least, 3,700 casualties and who knows how many life-altering injuries, since the Pentagon is really keeping track. Heck, our soldiers are lucky if they get a hospital room without mold on and in the walls, let alone decent care.
Yeah, things are going real bad for the Democrats. Is this what you call blogger’s derangement syndrome?