Amid all the sturm und drang about the Clintons and whether or not they really, really support Barack Obama (and whether or not substantial numbers of Hillary's supporters are insane...) you probably missed this interesting piece of news. I know I did:
Gen. David Petraeus, top commander of coalition military forces in Iraq, recently sat down with Newsweek to do a “valedictory” interview before he takes up his new post as CENTCOM commander next month. Newsweek reported that while Petraeus recognized that al-Qaeda in Iraq has been significantly diminished, he refused to say the terror group had been “defeated.” Moreover, Petraeus acknowledged that the recent successes in Iraq may have been possible without the surge: Petraeus is careful not to credit all the progress to the surge of U.S. troops in 2007. The sea change came last year from a series of movements now known as the Awakening. […] So would the Sunni Awakening have succeeded without the surge? Possibly, he concedes.
That's going to be news to John McCain. I sure hope he doesn't start calling the general a traitor. He does that sort of thing, you know...
Petraeus' uncharacteristic demonstration of a hint of independence would be huge news, were it not for the fact that his actual boss -- President Bush, as to opposed to the guy who THINKS he's president ... and who ownes seven houses, some of them probably white -- has been taking increasing steps to inch slowly out of Iraq on his way out the door.
| Labels: General David Petraeus, Iraq, the surge |
