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Blowback and Testimony

Posted by michaelvdg in At TMV.
Sep 10th, 2007 | 3 responses

To read my opinion of the testimony of General Petraeus and ambassador Crocker please click here. To sum it up: a sober assessment, both men seemed to be honest; they mentioned the problems but also expressed believe that progress has been made (slowly but surely); all in all a good, realistic assessment of the situation on the ground. It seems to me that people cannot easily dismiss what the two had to say.

In the post, I also respond to the ridiculous, over-the-top advertisement placed by MoveOn in today’s New York Times. MoveOn basically labeled General Petraeus a traitor.

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3 Responses to “Blowback and Testimony”

jdledell says:

September 10, 2007 at 2:35 pm

Michael – Where are the facts that Patraeus promised when he was confirmed? He said he would use metrics – where are the specifics that back up his claims? It was nothing more than a bunch of subjective opinions that once again we are supposed to take on faith.

Sorry, but I have been burned before by this administration. I want names, dates, locations and numbers to back up every one of his statements. Am I just suppossed to swallow this hook, line and sinker like when Powell spoke?
Rudi says:

September 10, 2007 at 5:21 pm

Both sides are wrong to throw out “traitor” to silence the opposition. Townhall was just as wrong with this:

On the heels of the “White House-CIA leak” investigation, which concluded that no laws were broken (but which resulted in straw-grasping charges against Lewis Libby, the Vice President’s chief of staff), liberals are attempting to parlay that non-starter into a much bigger political brawl.

Senators Harry Reid, Dick Durbin and Ted Kennedy have accused President George W. Bush of lying about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, insisting that he “lied us into war.” Some Demo wing nuts are even floating the idea of impeachment. Their charges have no substance, of course; they’re merely contrived to keep Republicans off balance through next year’s midterm elections. In other words, Democrat Party leaders are using the gravely serious matter of the Iraq War for trivial political fodder — and their politicization of our mission there has put our Armed Forces in the region in greater peril.

Let’s be clear: There is nothing wrong with honest criticism of an American president; to the contrary, we have written extensively about President Bush’s policy failures. The dishonest and politically motivated accusations of Kennedy, Reid, Durbin and their ilk, however, are nothing short of — and we don’t use this term lightly — treasonous

But I do believe the likes of Bill Bennett and the Hannity’s started the traitor slander. You are only a traitor when you help the enemy against the troops, not by voicing dissent from either side.
Blue Crab Boulevard » Officially Over The Top says:

September 10, 2007 at 6:04 pm

[...] some folks who didn't like my particular take on the MoveOn smear on General David Petraeus. There are some who agree. Oddly enough, those who agree that MoveOn was over the top on this happen to be [...]