"Regardless of one's view of the wisdom of the policy that took us to Iraq in the first place and has kept us there over five years, we owe Gen. Petraeus and Gen. Odierno a debt of gratitude," said Sen. Carl Levin.
"And regardless how long the administration may choose to remain engaged in the strife in that country, our troops are better off with the leadership these two distinguished soldiers provide."
Because of his arrogant predictions, Murtha should be subjected to healthy helpings of ridicule. In fact, if you couple Gen. Petraeus' testimony with Amb. Crocker's statement, you'd have to conclude that the Surge is succeeding on all fronts:
U.S Ambassador Crocker spoke as he visited reconstruction projects in the southern city of Najaf. "There is important progress for the Iraqi forces in confronting the Sunni and Shiite militias," he said, speaking Arabic to reporters. "The government, the prime minister are showing a clear determination to take on extremist armed elements that challenge the government's authority...no matter who these elements are."
"You are not going to hear me say that Al Qaeda is defeated, but they've never been closer to defeat than they are now," Crocker said.
President Bush gets low grades on Iraq because he didn't win the insurgency, not because the American people are anti-war. I've said it before that they're just opposed to losing wars.
Another politician that deserves ridicule is Sen. Amy Klobuchar. Here's what she recently said:
“America needs a change of course in Iraq,” Klobuchar said. The measure “continued an open-ended commitment with no clear transition to Iraqi authority,” she said. “My priority is to transition to Iraq authority by beginning to bring our troops home in a responsible way.”
She certainly doesn't have a command of national security issues that Norm Coleman has.
Last summer, I was optimistic that the Iraq War could be turned into a positive for the GOP presidential nominee. It appears as though that's certain to happen. That's why Rep. Murtha and his MoveOn.org friends must be steaming.
Technorati: Carl Levin, John Murtha, David Petraeus, Ryan Crocker, John McCain, Insurgency, AQI, National Security, Amy Klobuchar, Norm Coleman, Foreign Policy, Election 2008
Cross-posted at LFR.