Wednesday, 04.09.08
Petraeus's Options
Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images
A critical moment during the Petraeus/Crocker hearings yesterday came when the general refused to play along. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), referring to the Democratic presidential candidates, urged, cajoled, and all but begged Petraeus to state that a rapid, one-brigade-a-month troop withdrawal would be a disaster. But Petraeus was cautious: "It clearly will depend on the conditions at the time."
His unwillingness to bite when pressed by Graham is a tacit acknowledgment of the political realities that will assert themselves acutely in November of this year. Petraeus currently works for a president who desperately wants to keep the violence down for six more months and begin to withdraw troops before the election. But starting after the election, Petraeus will either work with a Democrat who will demand a quick draw-down or with a Republican whose actual policy is less radical than it sounds: McCain wants to manage an honorable withdrawal but wants to be the one who defines what honor is. Which means that the general needs to keep his options open.
On the Hill, as Crocker and Petraeus return for more questioning, politics will continue to constrain the debate. Yesterday, they tried to speak narrowly, refusing to address the issues of Iraq's neighbors. (This is like evaluating a pizza by tasting only the cheese.) Petraeus was hemmed in by the president's refusal to define victory; all he would allow is that "local conditions" might improve: "When the conditions are met is when we can make a recommendation" to withdraw troops. McCain can't talk about universally acknowledged benchmarks because he is thoroughly convinced that Al Qaeda will base its strategy on thwarting them, and because he wants to set them himself as president. Everyone wants to talk about Iraq, in other words -- but only on his own terms.
Unbearably strainedSteve Coll assesses the state of the military in Iraq for The New Yorker. |
Absurd yet sadEve Fairbanks compares Petraeus and Crocker's hearing to a performance of Waiting for Godot. |
He won't budgeMark Hemingway compares this hearing to years past and finds that Petraeus is more stalwart. |
Heads in the sandThe Wall Street Journal opines that Democrats are stubbornly refusing to listen to the sober and accurate testimony. |
