Gen. Petraeus and Sen. McConnell at odds over surge

Source: Raw Story

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said on CBS's Face The Nation on Sunday that he expects the US "surge" in Iraq to come to an end in September, a sentiment that deviates greatly from the official White House and military stance.

"I think that everybody anticipates that this is going to be a new strategy in the fall. I don't think we'll have the same level of troops, in all likelihood, that we have now," he said. "We're not forever."

McConnell said he sees "growing support" among both Republicans and Democrats for implementing the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, which included a suggestion for a phased withdrawal of US troops.

Also this morning, appearing on Fox News Sunday US General David Petraeus said that the "surge" strategy would not be completed by September.

Read more: http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Gen._Petraeus_and_Sen._McConnell_at_0617.html

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With video.

He's bucking hard as hell to become this generation's Westmoreland. Gee, let's win every battle until we lose the war!! How about a 21st Century War of Attrition!!! Where's that light at the end of the tunnel? Does it run on solar power? Or is it, once again, an oncoming train!?

He signed numerous orders of dubious legality under the laws of war, the most infamous of which being the notorious Commissar Order, and unquestionably allowed Himmler a free hand with his racial controls and ensuing terror in captured Russian territory. Another was the order to have any of the French pilots fighting for the Normandie-Niemen fighter regiment in and on behalf of the USSR to be executed instead of their being treated as prisoners of war. Keitel was also instrumental in foiling the attempted coup of the July 20 Plot in 1944, which attempted to assassinate Hitler. Keitel then sat on the following Army Court of Honour that handed many officers, including Field Marshal Erwin von Witzleben, over to Roland Freisler's notorious People's Court.

f*ck a duck on live TV if he thought it would get him a vote.

McConnell's candidate (the EX-US Rep Anne Northup - I can't type that enough!) lost in the primary for the Ky governorship, he is feeling the heat back home over his endless man love of Chucklenuts and there is no one he won't screw, no amount of pandering he isn't willing to do, no Constitution he isn't willing to trash, no promises, lies and half-cocked war "theories" he won't postulate between now and then to keep his ass in the Senate. McConnell is in this for McConnell and the hell with the rest of the country.

know

You don't get to be such a blowharded asshole all the time if they don't put the "Sen" in front of your name, he guesses.

:sarcasm:

Isn't that how it works, Repukes? :eyes:

when he says some change should be forthcoming by September. "Either you start putting some points on the board or I shut down the cheerleading squad in the Senate."

I suppose Petraeus is feeding his boss' lines to the media for public consumption. We heard early on about how brilliant this guy is, and that may be so, but the headlines I'm reading aren't adding up to success in Baghdad. Far from it.

McConnell must have privately signalled to the White House that they are on borrowed time, that there had better be some significant sea change in the conditions in Iraq before summer ends, or he won't make much effort to hold the fort among the GOP faithful. Any reference to Baker/Hamilton is a repudiation of Bush's war policy in that if Dubya had wanted to adopt those recommendations he would have a long time ago. He rejected those findings and kept digging a deeper ditch.

Without the Minority Leader on board, there isn't much chance the Bush administration can persuade anyone at all that the surge has been "successful," or that there is a compelling purpose to keeping U.S. troops in Iraq. There comes a point when Republican folks stop returning Bush's phone calls. It's coming up just after Labor Day, IMO.

Add the political pressure of an election year just around the bend and one Republican after another is going to be slipping out the back door.

we're hearing that the surge is working, the surge is not working, Iraqi gov't wants us to leave, Iraqi gov't doesn't want us to leave yet, troop withdrawals, no troop withdrawals, progess being made, progress not being made, # of attacks declining (good sign), # of attacks increasing (last throes of desperation), republics give it until September, republics saying it will take longer than until September, 10 year occupation, not going to take 10 years...


doesn't anyone in the bush mis-administration know what's going on? nevermind - either they can't imagine _____, or they can't remember _____ or they won't comment during an on-going _____