There was a report issued by the White House in July. There will be a report issued by the White House in September.

There will be testimony by Petraeus and Crocker in September.

There will not be a written report submitted to Congress by Petraeus.

All of this is as mandated by Congress. It has not changed. NO ONE IS SAYING THAT THERE WILL BE NO WRITTEN REPORT. What is being said (and now spun in a new way) is that PETRAEUS will not be writing a report. Petraeus gives oral testimony, White House writes a report. Got it??

The “Petraeus Report”
Posted By Grim
There has been some talk in the press and on the blogs that suggests the White House intends to tamper with — or simply write — General Petraeus’ assessment to Congress. In a discussion today with a DOD Legislative Affairs expert, we got the truth.

Congress itself mandated by law who will assemble each of the several reports due in September. It also, separately, mandated that General Petraeus be available to testify to them at this time.

Public Law 110-28 specifes that “the President, having consulted with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Commander, Multi-National Forces-Iraq, the United States Ambassador to Iraq, and the Commander of U.S. Central Command, will prepare the report and submit the report to Congress.”

The pro-soldiers at BlackFive also infer from the law that Bush WILL write the report. Now W says – no,no,no?

Bush to Wait for Petraeus Report Before Making New War Plan
By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, July 10, 2007 – President Bush today said he will wait until the top commander in Iraq issues his assessment of progress there before deciding the way ahead for the region.
“I believe that it’s in this nation’s interest to give the commander the chance to fully implement his operations,” Bush said, speaking to about 400 people in a town-hall-style meeting in Cleveland.

Bush said he believes the United States eventually can reduce its troop presence in Iraq to the number necessary to preserve the country’s territorial integrity, ensure al Qaeda doesn’t gain safe haven from which to launch attacks, and continue training Iraqi troops.

But, he said, that would not be possible without the current surge of troops.

“I wouldn’t ask a mother or a dad – I wouldn’t put their sons in harm’s way – if I didn’t believe this was necessary for the security of the United States and peace of the world,” Bush said. “I strongly believe we will prevail. And I strongly believe that democracy will trump totalitarianism every time.”

The president called the top commander in Iraq, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, “smart and capable,” and said the general provides candid advice. Petraeus assumed command of the Multinational Force Iraq on Feb. 10, and the surge he asked for is now under way, with the final troops needed for it having arrived last month.

Bush will issue a report to Congress by July 15 on the progress the Iraqi government has made toward the 18 benchmarks set as part of the supplemental spending bill earlier this year. A final report is due in September.

If no report is required or expected, why did Bush/Petraeus give an initial report in July and not plan on giving one now. Will the real report be behind closed doors?

Is Defense Link a biased site like Newsbusters or MediaMatters?

Review: Congress mandated certain written reports, including one due in mid Sept authored by the White House.

Petraeus and Crocker are to give testimony to Congress but there was never a claim that they would submit a written report.

None of these facts have changed since day one. Please stop the spin, you’re making me dizzy.

Amazing how people make assumptions, THEN accuse the President of wrongdoing when their assumptions end up being based on LIES

Wha wha what?

This comment makes no sense. What are the lies that the assumptions are based on?

FTR, a report is generally considered to be a written document. Unless of course you are looking to make excuses for the Administration.

(A) The President shall submit an initial report, in classified and unclassified format, to the Congress, not later than July 15, 2007, assessing the status of each of the specific benchmarks established above, and declaring, in his judgment, whether satisfactory progress toward meeting these benchmarks is, or is not, being achieved.

(B) The President, having consulted with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Commander, Multi-National Forces Iraq, the United States Ambassador to Iraq, and the Commander of U.S. Central Command, will prepare the report and submit the report to Congress.

(C) If the President’s assessment of any of the specific benchmarks established above is unsatisfactory, the President shall include in that report a description of such revisions to the political, economic, regional, and military components of the strategy, as announced by the President on January 10, 2007. In addition, the President shall include in the report, the advisability of implementing such aspects of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, as he deems appropriate.

(D) The President shall submit a second report to the Congress, not later than September 15, 2007, following the same procedures and criteria outlined above.

Amazing how people make assumptions, THEN accuse the President of wrongdoing when their assumptions end up being based on LIES.

Patreaus Letter