http://www.davidcorn.com/archives/2007/04/baitandswitch_i.phpThe other day I bumped into a retired general I know. He's a friend of General David Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq. I asked about a recent McClatchy Newspaper story by Nancy Youssef that reported that the training of Iraqi troops is no longer a priority for US forces in Iraq.
The April 19 piece began:
Military planners have abandoned the idea that standing up Iraqi troops will enable American soldiers to start coming home soon and now believe that U.S. troops will have to defeat the insurgents and secure control of troubled provinces....
This retired general told me the McClatchy story was accurate. He called it another indication that the military mission has been lost and that the United States was stuck in the midst of a situation akin to a civil war. What ought to be done? I ask. He lowered his voice:
we have to start bringing the troops home. Have you said that publicly? I inquired. Not yet, he replied. He's not ready to do so. It's hard to totally break with the war, he explained, noting he felt some loyalty to Petraeus. He recalled that recently he had been asked by members of Congress if the United States should begin withdrawing troops and he punted. But, he said, he's getting closer to telling the world how he really feels. "I don't know how long I can go without saying it," he remarked.
Republicans these days accuse Democrats of supporting surrender. But reality can intrude upon politics and even friendships. Just ask this former general. My hunch is that he won't stay silent for long. Meanwhile, Bush has yet to answer for a fundamental shift in Iraq policy--and for having misled the public about the goal of his escalation.