Grilling Petraeus

Above title comes from MoJo, short for Mother Jones, for those not in the know.

It covers this:

Washington Dispatch: We asked a dozen national security experts what Congress should ask the top military commander in Iraq at this week’s hearings. Here’s what they came up with.

There’s a short introduction, before the panel asks their questions. In the intro we are reminded of what Petraeus gave as an answer the last time:

But when Republican Senator John Warner asked Petraeus if the Iraq War “makes America safer,” the general replied, “I don’t know, actually. I have not sat down and sorted [it] out in my own mind.”

Ought to be real interesting what answer he gives this time!

From the invasion, and building these five, now plus, years, I could tell him We Are Not Safer! Reason we have now created more Hatreds and Enemies out of Tens Of Thousands of Iraqi’s, and probably as many in the region, that Didn’t Exist Before!!

I would also point out that there seems to be a Nationalist group that is beating him at his expertise, Counter Insurgency, and we saw that Explode these last couple of weeks and continue, as the Iraq Government? and the U.S. are still trying to quell that Nationalism, with the Iraqi Government? threatening to not allow this group, never minding all the others, to participate in the coming elections, Hell Of A Democracy We Gave Them!

The dozen National Security Experts participating in giving the questions are:

Andrew Bacevich, professor of history and international relations at Boston University

Larry Johnson, former CIA and State Department intelligence official

Wayne White, head of the State Department’s Iraq intelligence team 2003 to 2005 and an adviser to the Iraq Study Group

Juan Cole, professor of history at University of Michigan

Sam Gardiner, retired Air Force colonel and expert on military strategy

A research professor at a military institute who asked not to be named

David Isenberg, military affairs analyst and adjunct scholar with the Cato Institute

A former intelligence analyst who handled Middle Eastern issues for years and who asked not to be identified by name

Lawrence Wilkerson, chief of staff to former Secretary of State Colin Powell

Gordon Adams, professor of U.S. Foreign Policy at the School of International Service, American University

Retired Colonel W. Patrick Lang Jr., former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency’s human intelligence service

A former Army colonel and planner who asked not to be identified

Take a trip over to MoJo to view the questions they asked and see if you think they are better than

The questions he received from the legislators were mostly softballs. (Neither senators Hillary Clinton nor Barack Obama were impressive when questioning Petraeus.)

the Congressional Questions last time

This time is a Huge Question Mark coming from a Congress not following the Will Of The People!

“Victory means exit strategy, and it’s important for the president to explain to us what the exit strategy is,” – George W. Bush, Texas Gov., 1999

” What does it matter to the dead, the orphan, and the homeless whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy?”

– Mohandas K. Gandhi

” Wars, conflict, it’s all business. One murder makes a villain. Millions a hero. Numbers sanctify.”

-Charlie Chaplin

And so from the spectre of the summer soldier who shrinks from the hard truths and his country’s crises, comes the Winter Soldier who will not look away.