Petraeus makes his case to Senators

Washington Post:

Before he flew off to Iraq this week to take command of U.S. forces there, Gen. David H. Petraeus conducted one last mission here on the home front -- this one on Capitol Hill.

With the Senate about to debate President Bush's troop increase, Petraeus was set up last week in the office of Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). Senators were approached on the floor and urged to meet with him. And the new Iraq commander then privately outlined his view of the war and what he will do with the 21,500 extra troops.

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"I've been selling Petraeus to anybody who would listen," said Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), who terms the Bush troop increase the "Petraeus Doctrine" and fetched senators off the floor to meet the general in McConnell's office. "He's the General Grant of the surge. He's our last best chance as a military commander to bring about a change on the ground."

And maybe the last best chance for Bush allies to head off a resolution rejecting the troop increase or at least keep many Republicans from supporting it. The Petraeus card is about the only one left to play for a White House confronting low poll numbers, an unpopular war and an opposition Congress. With as many as 11 Senate Republicans against Bush's new Iraq plan, Petraeus has sway that his commander in chief does not. "There's not much the White House could do right now, to be honest with you, to change votes," Graham said.

Yet if invoking Petraeus has been effective for Graham and others trying to rally Republicans, Democrats remain unpersuaded. "He's a capable officer. He's got the talent and skill for the job," said Sen. Jack Reed (R.I.), a member of the Armed Services Committee. But "we're not talking about the Petraeus plan," he added. "We're talking about the president's plan. It's not only appropriate, but I think we have an obligation to point out its shortcomings."

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Reed is being dishonest. The President accepted the plan put forward by General Petraeus and the other commanders, just has he has accepted Casey and Abizaid's plans in the past. The Democrats have sought to politicize war planning from the beginning of the effort to liberate Iraq and they continue to do it now disregarding the obvious contribution of the military. Reed's dishonesty is a reflection of the entire Democrat senate outside of the one honest member, Joe Lieberman. At some point the Republicans need to directly confront this Democrat dishonesty and their politicization of military strategy. It is not just bad for the Republicans it is bad for the country and future military operations.