Say Anything Blog

General Petraeus was in Washington, recently, and met with out nation’s political leaders to talk about the war in Iraq.  The meeting was secret, for obvious reasons, but the politicians (as is their wont) have been talking a lot about what the General told them.

Only there’s been a marked difference between what Republicans are saying about Petraeus’ comments and what Democrats are saying.  Who do we believe?  Cynics will want to believe the Democrats, optimists will want to believe the Republicans, but we can actually settle the problem of which side more accurately portrays Petraeus’ comments just by looking at some of the other comments on Iraq the General has made publicly.

Which is exactly what the Mudville Gazette has done in a post that exposes the Democrats for a bunch of manipulative lying liars.  An excerpt:

On the biggest threat to U.S. forces and stability in Iraq:

[What the Republicans Claim Petraeus Said]: Al-Qaida, the shadowy terrorist group responsible for the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and whose involvement with Iraq - later disproved - was cited by President Bush as a key reason to invade four years ago. Iran also is causing trouble.

“Al-Qaida, he made clear, continues to make this the central front in their war with us,” Boehner said. “And I would remind everyone that we didn’t start this war with al-Qaida, they started it. ... And they are the major foe that we face in Iraq today.”

[What the Democrats Claim Petraeus Said]: Homegrown insurgents and the rampant violence between Sunnis and Shiites.

“Gen. Petraeus made it very clear that the sectarian violence was the most disruptive element,” Hoyer said.

[What General Petraeus Has Said In Public Briefings]:“Iraq is, in fact, the central front of al Qaeda’s global campaign.”

Q: You say that Iraq is now the central focus of al Qaeda’s worldwide effort. Are you saying that al Qaeda in Iraq is now the sort of principal enemy of the U.S. forces stationed there?

A: I think it is probably public enemy number one.

Al Qaeda in Iraq: Public enemy number one.  Meaning that the Iraq war is very much a part of the global war on terror.  A war that is tying up terrorist resources in Iraq so that they can’t use them to launch attacks on targets here at home.

A war the Democrats want to give up on.

This according to the General in charge of all military operations in Iraq.  A general appointed to his position by a unanimous vote of not just Republicans in the Senate, but the majority Democrats as well.

If the Democrats spent as much time actually listening to people like Petraeus as they do claiming they want to listen to people like him I can’t help but think that they’d have a much different position on Iraq.