Something Irritating..

So here's a statement from Rep. Lynn Woolsey of California regarding General Petraeus and his grasp of the situation. I don't care if there's a difference of opinion, but see all those awards on his uniform, the stars on his shoulder? That means he knows a heck of a lot more than you ever will about what is really going on in Iraq, Mrs. Woolsey. To say he is flat wrong and inaccurate is sleazy politics, or dumb at best.


General Petraeus's Report on the Situation in Iraq

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.

Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Speaker, many of my colleagues are eagerly waiting for General Petraeus's report on the situation in Iraq this September. But I don't know why we are waiting because we have already heard from General Petraeus in September; September of 2004, that is.

On September 26, 2004, General Petraeus wrote an op-ed piece in The Washington Post giving his assessment of the situation in Iraq at that time. I think it would be very constructive for us to review that article, and I would like to read pieces from it.

Near the beginning General Petraeus says: "Eighteen months after entering Iraq, I see tangible progress. Iraqi security elements are being rebuilt from the ground up. The institutions that oversee them are being reestablished from the top down. And Iraqi leaders are stepping forward, leading their country and their security forces courageously ..... ''

He goes on to recognize that the Iraqis face a violent insurgency, but he says: "Nonetheless, there are reasons for optimism ..... Iraqi police and soldiers ..... are performing a wide variety of security missions. Equipment is being delivered. Training is on track and increasing in capacity. Infrastructure is being repaired. Command and control structures and institutions are being reestablished.''

And after citing many other examples of progress, the general ended his piece this way: "I meet with Iraqi security force leaders every day ..... I have seen their determination and their desire to assume the full burden of security tasks for Iraq. There will be more tough times ..... along the way. Iraq's security forces are, however, developing steadily and they are in the fight. Momentum has gathered in recent months. With strong Iraqi leaders
out front and continued coalition support, this trend will continue.''

Obviously, the general could not have been more wrong.

Madam Speaker, we can only hope that when General Petraeus reports to us this September that he will take off his rose-colored glasses and see things more clearly. The American people deserve a full accounting of what is really going on. But it actually looks like we won't get it. Ambassador Crocker has said that the report will be just a "snapshot.'' So it looks like the White House spin machine is already trying to lower expectations and do preemptive damage control again.

But the damage in Iraq has already been done, and the American people deserve more than spin. What we need is a national security plan that is based on what will actually make our Nation safe. Such a plan must include diplomacy, strong international alliances against terrorism, initiatives to address the root cause of terrorism, and a new approach to foreign policy, an approach that restores America's credibility and moral leadership in the world.

I have proposed such a national security plan. It is called SMART, which stands for Sensible, Multilateral American Response to Terrorism. I invite all my colleagues to learn about it and consider this plan.

In the meantime, the runup to General Petraeus's report continues. I hope that this September he will be more accurate than he was in September 2004. But I am not holding my breath. In fact, I will not breathe easily until all of our troops are home safely.