This is the ad that MoveOn.org placed in The New York Times that is causing such a fuss. I would say that I do not know what all the fuss is about, except I know all too well what all the fuss is about - hanging another albatross around the neck of Democrats in Congress. I think the Democrats should simply not play the game, but of course they are. Sorry to say it, but Gen. Petraeus is fair game for criticism, especially as it became abundantly clear that the report he was giving to Congress was to come, by the terms of the statute requiring it, from the White House. This is another one of those lies of the right, "Some Democrats are calling it the 'Bush Report'", as if they were making it up out of whole-cloth. Petraeus' comments before the combined House committee on Monday showed exactly the point - he protested that his report was in his words; he made no such claim on Tuesday, because he couldn't.Over at Think Progress is a report that Gen. Petraeus commanding officer, Central Command Supreme Commander Adm. William Fallon, said of Petraeus:
Fallon told Petraeus [in March] that he considered him to be “an ass-kissing little chickensh*t” and added, “I hate people like that”
One can almost hear the gears starting to turn in the right-wing smear-machine as they take aim at Adm. Fallon. Petraeus, after all, is the hero du jeur, above reproach because of his years of service, etc., etc. Fallon, like the previous generals and admirals who either left the service or were fired (sometimes being demoted by a Republican Congress in the process) because they refused to toe the Bush line, is an honest, serious, patriotic person who managed to tell the truth. As Harry Truman remarked, sometimes the truth feels like hell.
All of this, however, is part of the larger meaningless political theater to which we are spectators, and in which, while we have a huge stake, we have no voice. Yesterday's hearing was meaningless. Monday's hearing was meaningless. Congress will change nothing. The troops will stay in Iraq until the end of Bush's term. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, more will die for no reason. Meanwhile, our military gets weaker, our ability to respond to real threats and real crises decreases almost exponentially, all because the Democrats in Congress are afraid some Republican somewhere might call him or her a wimp. It is pathetic, really. I would much rather a Democrat would echo Adm. Fallon and call Petraeus a chickenshit kiss-ass (and pardon my profanity).
