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Petraeus Picked to Lead Mideast Command
President Bush will nominate Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the commander of U.S. troops in Iraq, to become the next overall commander of American forces in the Middle East as part of a personnel shuffle to take place by early fall, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced today.
The changes became necessary when Adm. William J. "Fox" Fallon resigned unexpectedly last month as commander of the U.S. Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East, including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In announcing that move, Gates cited public perceptions that Fallon was at odds with Bush administration policy on Iran.
The moves are subject to Senate confirmation, but Gates said he did not foresee any problems in the process. President Bush will nominate Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the commander of U.S. troops in Iraq, to become the next overall commander o... more -
Patraeus to take lead of Central Command
"Petraeus, who has overseen a war strategy widely credited with a dramatic reduction in violence in Iraq, will replace former Adm. William Fallon, who resigned after a reported break with Bush over Iran policy." "Petraeus, who has overseen a war strategy widely credited with a dramatic reduction in violence in Iraq, will replace former Adm... more
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Petraeus wants war with Iran, says Buchanan
Pat Buchanan warns of war with Iran...
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Obama confronts Petraeus: Iraq Progress Report
from Sept 2007 (not the one from yesterday)
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Democrat: Iraq makes US more vulnerable - Yahoo! News
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration's Iraq policy has left the United States with insufficient resources to protect itself from attack, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee said Wednesday. WASHINGTON - The Bush administration's Iraq policy has left the United States with insufficient resources to protect itself from ... more
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Top ten questions for General Petraeus!
When Gen. Petreaus and Amb. Crocker appear before both houses of Congress tomorrow and Thursday, Democrats should ideally position themselves through these hearings to achieve the following overarching goals:
-- Debunk the fiction that the military surge has achieved sustainable military or political objectives.
-- Undermine Sen. McCain's argument that staying the course is a patriotic duty.
-- Demonstrate to the American people that the recent Iraqi government defeat at the hands of the Mahdi Army was indeed the "defining moment" that Bush claimed it was.
-- Offer a credible Democratic approach to stay the course that logically will achieve more in the long run for American security in the Middle East than what more of the same can possibly achieve.
With this in mind, and if I were staffing the hearings, here is the list of questions I would be proposing to our Democratic inquisitors:
1. Prime Minister Maliki launched an offensive to defeat the Mahdi Army in Basra. He was forced, despite U.S. logistical and air support, to sue for a ceasefire. President Bush declared during the fighting that this was a "defining moment" for Iraq. Why shouldn't the American people view this "defining moment" as exactly what it was: a defeat for us, the Iraqi government and a victory for radical Shiite militias?
2. If the U.S. military cannot adequately defend the Green Zone from missile attack from Shiite militias, why should the American people believe that the surge has achieved tangible, and not momentary lulls in violence?
3. General Petraeus, you are proposing that the current level of military forces remain static longer than planned. Isn't this proof that the amount of troops in Iraq will never be enough to adequately reduce the level of violence against U.S. and Iraqi forces?
4. Define "victory" within the context of the current Iraqi political and military environment? Why should this not be a recipe for disaster given the inability of the Iraqi military to meet its training goals and objectives?
5. America has now suffered the loss of over 4,000 soldiers and tens of thousands wounded. How willing, General Petreaus, are you prepared to stretch the military's capability to sustain troop levels at even the 100,000 level beyond the summer and what are your specific goals and objectives? When Gen. Petreaus and Amb. Crocker appear before both houses of Congress tomorrow and Thursday, Democrats should ideally position the... more -
McCain's Four-Star General Election
...the wounded veteran and a decorated warrior design the winning strategy.
These are salad days for John McCain, touring world capitals with his buddies Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham, meeting foreign leaders and returning to Washington with his nomination secure and polls confirming that he is well positioned to challenge either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.
In the public mind, McCain is closely bound to Bush's most consequential gamble, because he has been a consistent supporter of the decision to invade Iraq, and because he has been perhaps the most outspoken defender of the troop surge
But as much as McCain is linked to Bush on Iraq, he is even more closely tied to Gen. David Petraeus, the commander who devised and executed the counterinsurgency strategy
Following his eighth Iraq visit, Sen. John McCain declared that "we are succeeding" and said he wouldn't change course — even as the U.S. death toll rose to 4,000 and the war entered its sixth year. To underscore his view of the stakes in Iraq, the certain Republican presidential nominee twice referenced a recent audio tape from Osama bin Laden in which the al-Qaida leader urged followers to join the al-Qaida fight in Iraq and called the country "the greatest opportunity and the biggest task." ...the wounded veteran and a decorated warrior design the winning strategy. ... more -
Senior US General "Iran was behind the Green Zone attacks"
Gen David Petraeus told the BBC he thought Tehran had trained, equipped and funded insurgents who fired the barrage of mortars and rockets.
"The rockets that were launched at the Green Zone yesterday, for example... were Iranian-provided, Iranian-made rockets. All of this in complete violation of promises made by President Ahmadinejad and the other most senior Iranian leaders to their Iraqi counterparts."
This news comes just five days after George Bush marked the fifth anniversary of the invasion by saying that it had made the world a better place. Has it made the world a better place? And is this latest statement by Petraeus just more war propaganda to create a case to invade Iran? Gen David Petraeus told the BBC he thought Tehran had trained, equipped and funded insurgents who fired the barrage of mortars and roc... more -
War on the Middle Class
A project I did for contemporary issues class. we had to pick a social issue and go with it. My main criticism with this film is the Jena 6 section. I feel this section is relevant because it shows how right can easily be taken away from the wealthy. The gap between the have and have-nots are growing farther and farther apart. A project I did for contemporary issues class. we had to pick a social issue and go with it. My main criticism with this film is the J... more
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Bush to lie to nation in primetime address tonight
Daily Kos' take on what Bush's approach will be for his speech tonight at 9pm Eastern about the Iraq War and General Petraeus' report this past week. Daily Kos' take on what Bush's approach will be for his speech tonight at 9pm Eastern about the Iraq War and General Petraeu... more
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Petraeus Can't Heal the Iraq Divide
General David Petraeus came to Capitol Hill Monday with the weight of history on his four-starred shoulders. Not since April 29, 1967, when General William Westmoreland tried to sell the Vietnam War to a querulous Congress, has a military officer's testimony been so freighted with import for the nation's military, its foreign policy, and its place in the world for the coming generation. And like Westmoreland before him as one Democratic congressman even noted during the hearing Petraeus appeared as a marked-down commodity, his prescription for the future in Iraq already scrutinized and discarded by Democrats who see him increasingly as a shill for the White House. General David Petraeus came to Capitol Hill Monday with the weight of history on his four-starred shoulders. Not since April 29, 1967,... more
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General Petraeus
