Petraeus: Iraq security 'Fragile and Reversible'

Let's head over to Capitol Hill, where the top military commander in Iraq, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, has been testifying before Congress on--again--why we should continue to keep U.S. troops in Iraq. From The Washington Post:

The top U.S. military commander in Iraq told a Senate committee today that improved security in Iraq is "fragile and reversible" and recommended a pause in the withdrawal of U.S. forces after mid-July.

Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he has recommended to his superiors that the military continue rolling back a "surge" of U.S. forces that President Bush ordered last year in response to deteriorating security in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq. But after U.S. forces are reduced to their pre-buildup level by mid-July, Petraeus said, the military should suspend the withdrawals and begin a 45-day period of "consolidation and evaluation."

At the end of that period, he said, he has recommended starting "a process of assessment to examine the conditions on the ground and, over time, determine when we can make recommendations for further reductions." He strongly counseled against setting any deadlines for withdrawal.

"This approach does not allow establishment of a set withdrawal timetable," he said in his prepared statement. Instead, he said, it provides "the flexibility those of us on the ground need to preserve the still fragile security gains our troopers have fought so hard and sacrificed so much to achieve."

Do you know what I think? I think it is time to take a ride on the Iraq Sit-n-Spin--courtesy of the Republican Party:

Look how fast we can spin this war around!

The simple fact is that this is another attempt by the Bush administration to continue this disastrous war until after President Bush leaves office and dumps this entire mess on his successor. They know that the Maliki government has failed in its offensive against the anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, and that the violence in Iraq is escalating. The key point here is how do you maintain Congress' castrated stance in continuing to follow the Bush administration's failed policy in Iraq? You continue to shove more spin down Congress, and the American peoples' throats. Only this time, you change the spin a little. Now the U.S. military will provide Congress with 45-day assessments regarding the ongoing situation in Iraq. What do you think Petraeus is going to say to Congress after each 45-day period of "consolidation and evaluation?" He is going to say the same thing he said today about Iraq--we're still making progress in Iraq, but the situation is still fragile, and we can't withdrawal U.S. forces yet. On and on this spin will go, until President Bush will leave office, dump this entire failed crap on his [Democratic] successor, and then blame the Democrats for losing the war in Iraq.

Here is the mother-of-all Petraeus quotes:

In his opening statement, Petraeus cited "significant but uneven security progress in Iraq," saying that levels of violence and civilian deaths have declined substantially and that the group known as al-Qaeda in Iraq and other extremist organizations "have been dealt serious blows." In addition, he said, "the capabilities of Iraqi Security Force elements have grown, and there has been noteworthy involvement of local Iraqis in local security."

However, "the situation in certain areas is still unsatisfactory, and innumerable challenges remain," Petraeus said. "Moreover, as events in the past two weeks have reminded us and as I have repeatedly cautioned, the progress made since last spring is fragile and reversible."

Again, we're hearing the Bush administration's doom-and-gloom spin--progress has been made in Iraq, al Qaeda in Iraq has been dealt serious blows, Iraqi forces have been getting better. But if we leave now, everything will go to hell in a hand basket--the progress is still "fragile and reversible." Stay the course! We've been hearing this spin for almost five years now. The situation in Iraq has not changed over the past five years, nor will it ever change as long as U.S. troops continue to occupy the country. Again, the Bush administration's game plan has been to run out the clock on this war, and dump it on the next president. And Petraeus has been a good little Bush parrot--repeating the same crap over and over again. Incredible.

While we're on Iraq, we certainly have to look at what Senator John McCain said in his opening statement to the Petraeus hearings:

As the top Republican on the Armed Services Committee, McCain spoke before Petraeus and Crocker testified, repeating his warnings that withdrawing U.S. forces from Iraq too soon would bring chaos to the country and possibly trigger genocidal sectarian warfare.

"We're no longer staring into the abyss of defeat, and we can now look ahead to the genuine prospect of success," he said.

[....]

McCain also called on Iraq to use its own money to pay for more projects and programs and to "take on more of the financial burdens borne by American taxpayers."

But he strongly denounced calls by Democrats for what he termed "a reckless and irresponsible withdrawal" from Iraq at a time when the U.S. strategy is succeeding.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee said he did not want to keep U.S. troops in Iraq "a minute longer than necessary." But he warned that promising to withdraw forces "regardless of consequences would constitute a failure of political and moral leadership."

What can I say--McCain wants his 100-year war in Iraq! It is a delusional thinking on McCain's part to continue on with this disastrous war for no reason other than it "would constitute a failure of political and moral leadership." The failure of political and moral leadership is currently residing in the Oval Office under the name of George W. Bush. Bush got us into this disastrous war. Now he can't find a way out, so he'll dump it on the next president. Why McCain wants to become president and inherit this disastrous war is beyond my comprehension. Maybe he wants to continue the violence in Iraq because he is a bitter man with a bad temper, who believes that he should have been president in 2000, rather than George W. Bush. Whatever the reasons, McCain is trying to project the Bush administration's failures in Iraq, and the Republican Party's lack of political leadership in resolving this war on the Democrats. In other words, he is trying to blame the Democrats for both the Bush administration, and the Republican Party's failures on Iraq. It is a rather strange political campaign strategy, considering that McCain is also advocating the same Bush administration's failed policy of continuing this Iraq war.

It is complete madness.