Petraeus Aftermath

The day we were all waiting for has arrived. General Petraeus descended from Heaven and spoke to the Senate (the full text of his remarks is here). As was expected, Petraeus declared that the surge's military objectives were “in large measure being met,” and that the US could achieve "success" in Iraq. He recommended giving the surge policy six more months before a full evaluation, and said troops should be reduced to what they were before the surge by next summer -- hardly what withdrawal proponents are hoping to hear!

Tensions were high before and after the hearing. MoveOn.org ran a full-page ad in the NYT this morning: "General Petraeus or General Betray Us? Cooking the books for the White House." The Democrats' strategy, following MoveOn's recipe of questioning Petraeus's credibility, is to tie Petraeus to the White House. Dodd's statement in reaction to Petraeus's testimony is evidence of that:

The fact that there are questions about General Petraeus' report is not surprising given that it was brought to you by this White House. In contrast, independent report after report indicates that the whack-a-mole strategy has made this the bloodiest summer of the war.

The other candidates all came out with their condemnation of Petraeus's remarks. Edwards reiterated that Congress should no longer engage in the "false debate" of whether Bush should be granted more time, and start withdrawing troops urgently: "Congress must not cave. Congress must support our troops by using every tool available to force the president to agree to a withdrawal... Congress must stand strong for the American people and tell the president: no timeline, no funding. No excuses."

Richardson repeated that he is the only candidate committed to taking all the troops out: "The other major candidates have suggested that they will leave some troops behind indefinitely. That idea does not make sense. What can a smaller force accomplish that a larger force could not?" Finally, Obama finally came to some conclusion about what he would do now in the Senate, but he did not satisfy anti-war activists as he did not commit to only supporting bills that set a firm withdrawal deadline: I can only support a policy that begins an immediate removal of our troops from Iraq’s civil war, and initiates a sustained drawdown of our military presence.

And in what is perhaps the saddest but least surprising development, Lieberman blasted the MoveOn ad and rushed to Petraeus's defense - in a very similar rhetoric to Romney and Boehner. From his statement:

“The personal attack on Gen. David Petraeus launched today by MoveOn.org is an outrageous and despicable act of slander that every member of the Congress -- Democrat and Republican -- has a solemn responsibility to condemn. As a member of the Senate Democratic caucus, I therefore call on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to denounce Moveon.org in no uncertain terms for its vile attack on Gen. Petraeus. General Petraeus deserves no less."

Today's bottom line, therefore, is that as much as Bush wanted us to believe that September would change everything on the Iraq front, the Administration is refusing to move an inch. After begging for more time all summer, and promising a full assessment in September, the full assessment is now calling for 6 more months before a full evaluation. Democrats will hopefully act more tough than they did in the Spring.

Update

Dodd seems to have perceived that Obama is putting himself in an awkward position right now by refusing to explicitely say he will vote against any proposal that does not set a firm timetable. Clearly intent on joining the fray of top-tier candidates by provoking them directly, he is going against the Illinois Senator by name:

While we are glad that Senator Obama has called for a change of course in Iraq, he isn't clear as to what he will do to make that happen, or when. Rhetoric and highly nuanced statements are not going to end this war -- strong leadership and clarity will...We urge Senator Obama, and all the other candidates in the Senate, to state clearly and directly whether or not they will support Iraq legislation if it does not include a firm, enforceable deadline to begin and complete the redeployment of troops from Iraq.