Petraeus Calls for Troop Withdrawal Halt
WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. general commanding the Iraq war called Tuesday for an open-ended suspension of U.S. troop withdrawals this summer, reflecting concern about a recent flare-up in violence and leaving open the possibility that few, if any, additional troops will be brought home before President Bush leaves office in January.
Gen. David Petraeus told a Senate hearing that he recommends a 45-day “period of consolidation and evaluation” once the extra combat forces that Bush ordered to Iraq last year have completed their pullout in July. He did not commit to a timetable for resuming troop reductions after the 45-day pause.
“At the end of that period, we will commence a process of assessment to examine the conditions on the ground and, over time, determine when we can make recommendations for further reductions,” Petraeus said.
Full Story Here:
Petraeus Calls for Troop Withdrawal Halt
There is an on-line petition at the site for U.S. Senator John Cornyn asking for signers to show their support of Gen. David Petraeus, and Sen. Cornyn plans on giving this list of supporters to the General personally:
Please sign this petition telling General Petraeus that we support the job that he and his troops are doing in Iraq.
The next time I see General Petraeus I’ll be sure to pass along a big Texas “thank you” to him and to all of our men and women in uniform for all that they do.
Your signature will assure General Petraeus that he and his troops have the support and admiration of all Texans and Americans, no matter what Democrats and their third party attack machine would have you believe.
~ Senator John Cornyn
The petition can be found here:
Sign the General David Petraeus Petition
I went to the site and signed this petition, and just below is an exact, word for word copy of the message that I sent to Sen. Cornyn for him pass along to Gen. Petraeus on my behalf.
I DO support the troops, I have NEVER agreed with the reasons stated by the Bush administration for us going to Iraq though, I was NEVER convinced that Iraq was ‘Priority 1′ but I DO support our troops, even if I don’t agree with our POTUS and his stated reasons for them being there.
My Son has already done one tour in Iraq and his Guard unit has been told they will be going back in early 2010.
I have a suggestion for General Petraeus, IF we’re going to be in Iraq, why don’t we go ahead and kick the living crap out of the entire insurgency, AND the supporters OF that insurgency, and get this thing over with, not some ‘SURGE’, but a real, hardcore, massive offensive that will bring this thing to an acceptable solution…
We were directly involved in WWII for 3 years and 9 months, we’ve been in Iraq for over 5 years and the insurgency is still active, and still killing OUR troops, and to me, and my way of thinking, this is a totally unacceptable situation…
We are, supposedly, the strongest nation on earth, with a military that is 2nd to none, tell Bush to let the guys DO THE JOB, stop the PC bullshit and get this thing over with, our troops have the will to DO that job, does General Petraeus have the will to tell his CiC to allow them to do it??
Does General Petraeus have the balls to lead them IN that mission?
I certainly hope so..
Several of the Bush Bot bloggers seem think I am anti-war for some strange reason and have called me lots of names over the last couple of years, traitor being the most common so far, and nothing could be further from the truth, I am NOT anti-war, I am anti-bullshitting around, if we’re going to fight, by God, let’s do some fighting and get this thing over with.
If you can’t see the logic in that then you’re not a Conservative, but I’d bet you’re a Bush supporter that’s going to become a McCainiac very soon.
Trackback URL:
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April 8th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
I signed that too, a couple of days ago…I do agree with you here Fred, the PCness is costing more lives on both sides, than it is saving.
I’ll take the General’s assessment over ANY elected official’s.
April 8th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
Petraeus,
Lead, follow or get out of the way.
Win it with overwhelming force or step down and let someone in who will.
Enough is enough.
April 8th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
Fred, those are my sentiments exactly. You just make more sense :-p
April 8th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
It’s not that the General, or any other General, doesn’t have the kahonas, thing is they can’t. Generals have to fall under the command of the SecDef and POTUS. If General Petraeus could, he would have unleashed the Dogs long ago and have put an end to this insurgency, just like they did after WWII.
Politicians with their “win their hearts and minds” PC bullshit have gotten thousands of America’s finest killed in Vietnam and now in Iraq too.
April 8th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
It’s not that the General, or any other General, doesn’t have the kahonas, thing is they can’t. Generals have to fall under the command of the SecDef and POTUS. If General Petraeus could, he would have unleashed the Dogs long ago and have put an end to this insurgency, just like they did after WWII.
That’s Bullshit with all do respect.
Either you’re a Military Commander or you’re not.
Excuses after excuses, do you think Patton would have listened to the SecDef or the POTUS?
No, he would have done whatever it took to win and he would have told the SecDef and the POTUS to go pound sand.
April 8th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
No, it’s not, it’s the way things roll, it’s called the Chain of Command, and BobF is exactly right…
No, sorry Ranando, but this time I have to say you’re wrong, you’re not, nor were you military, we ALL bitch about how we want it to be but all things considered, Patton might not have liked it, but he would have followed orders…
My thing is, IF Bush asks Petraeus for an honest opinion and Petraeus gives him one, IF it’s not exactly what BUSH wants to hear, Petraeus will be OUT, retirement will loom shortly…
It’s NOT the Generals, it’s that goddamned asshole, no war fighting, hard headed son of a bitch that supposedly LEADS this nation, him and all his PC bullshit and his not wanting to hurt feelings…
Well, in a war you hurt a lot more than feelings, unless you’re a chickenshit Globalist like George W. Bush…
April 8th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
Fred, I agree with the sentiment in your post. I completely agree that we need to DISABLE the insurgency in a way that they will never forget and will never recover from. I believe it would be easy for us - like water off a ducks back…or whatever. Too bad we didn’t do it when we entered Baghdad.
Big mistake not to take out M. al Sadr in Sadr City back in the beginning. I was outraged that he was in the Parliament, but I do understand that his followers were the poorest of the poor. Perhaps now, with what has just happened, it will be an end to him, as even his followers are understanding that they don’t need to follow him - that life is better without him. Maybe they wouldn’t have learned this lesson has he been taken out early on.
I do not agree with your reply above about Bush, although I certainly agree that he is a Globalist. The House and the Senate are to blame for Bush’s light tread, I think. He was put in a terrible position, and he has been a strong leader in the face of the rudest and meanest Congress a President could have. He has had little loyalty, including from McCain.
As inane as it may seem at times, as we hear it all the time from those we know do not have an ounce of feeling for our troops, I thank your son for his service, and his continued service, and for you and your family and what you must endure.
Maggie
Maggie’s Notebook
April 8th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
You’re correct Fred, I’m NOT MILITARY.
You go Petraeus, you’re doing a great job.
April 8th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
Maggie, I am guessing that YOU are one of the ‘anything goes’ Bush supporters that I so intensely hate, I am sorry to see that…
That’s the biggest crock of BULLSHIT I have seen in a long time, Bush had a DREAM House and Senate and HE blew it, he had a Republican House and Senate and a Conservative SCOTUS, and the dumb bastard took us into a morass that we had NO business engaging in as he lost focus on the REAL battle in Afghanistan, you know, staying the course where the course REALLY was…
The CiC is ultimately responsible, he ORDERED the troops into Iraq, HE did, and no one else was responsible for that, the SecDef followed orders and when the orders didn’t match the WILL of the POTUS, the SecDef was replaced, Bush is a vindictive little prick and he wants YES MEN, not leaders…
Whether you agree or not is irrelevant to me, I have MY beliefs and you have yours, and that’s the way it goes…
I think Bush is a moron of the 1st order, you don’t, great…
Have a good day…
April 8th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
That was NOT meant as a criticism, it was a statement of FACT, the military chain of command is an entirely different animal than ANYTHING you have ever seen as a civilian…
Somehow, I thought you would understand that, guess not…
April 8th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
No Fred, you guessed wrong.
Maggie
April 8th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
As I said Maggie, you have your opinion and I have mine…
April 9th, 2008 at 9:23 am
No problem……
I just want to win this thing and if the chain of command is keeping us from winning, let’s change the chain of command.
I really get upset about this War in Iraq, hope you understand.
April 9th, 2008 at 11:16 am
What Fred said, with one addition;
“Let us hear the lamentations of their women…”
April 9th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
It IS the Chain of Command, but it’s the TOP LINK of the chain, not the lower links, not even the DoD, all the DoD can do is follow orders…
There are General Officers that will kiss Bush’s ass as fast as Amy Proctor would blow him, they would kiss ANY presidents ass in an effort to ‘climb the ladder’, but for the most part, the Officer Corps would take Iraq apart, into little bitty pieces if given the order, and I know for a fact that the field grade and Jr grade officers are ready, and the troops are PAST ready…
It ALL starts in the oval office, no matter WHAT the Bush Bots say, look at the man at the top, Harry Truman said it best, “The buck stops here”, well, George W. Bush has wasted the buck, and he didn’t spend it on education…
Maggie waded off into a pool where she really didn’t want to go, IF Congress was so mean to Bush, they would have stopped him, WAR has NOT been declared, this bullshit in Iraq is strictly the doings of BUSH himself, a temper tantrum gone horribly wrong, and Congress supported him on it, otherwise we would NOT be there
April 9th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Precisely!
April 9th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Ranando, , I understand your point and feelings but under our Constitution, all military personnel are subordinate to the Civilian leadership in this country. All military personnel take an Oath to support and defend the Constitution and to obey the orders of the President of the United States.
http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joiningthemilitary/a/oathofenlist.htm
General Patton, one of my hero’s, was put on the “back burner” because he went against what his superiors wanted and opened his mouth too much. General Douglas McArthur, one of the greatest military minds this country ever produced, was fired for going against President Truman.
When a Flag Officer can no longer support the policies of the President, their next option is to retire or step down. One of the best USAF Chief’s of Staff we ever had, General Fogleman, retired when he could no longer support the policies of President Clinton. Along with him, Secretary of the Air Force, Dr. Sheila E. Widnall also resigned. Both her and Gen. Fogleman were highly respected and liked throughout the ranks and we hated to see them leave.
All military personnel from the no-stripe private to the 4-star general are committed to civilian rule of the Armed Forces. That’s what differentiates us from all every other nation in the world. There’s never been an attempted military coup in this country and their never will be. Our troops are taught to think for themselves. Their love of our nation, its laws, and Constitution would never permit them follow the orders of an officer who went against the orders of the POTUS. All orders given must be lawful in accordance with regulations and the UCMJ. The only orders any soldier, sailor, airman, or marine are required to follow are lawful orders.
I hope this clears things up a bit.
April 9th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
yep..what I have been saying for the past four years..I understand wanting to “let the dust settle” and see what happens before pulling more troops out. I also understand that the raghead mentality sees the willingness to negotiate and the left wing call for cut and run as a weakness to be exploited. I will bet that the closer we get to the November elections the more violence is gonna happen in Iraq because they are hoping that they can swing the election to Obama who has promised to surrender.
I did find myself agreeing somewhat with Obama though..what is the fucking agenda? How will we know when the objective is met if we don’t know what the objective is? I want to see a stable Iraq and will support any reasonable plan to bring that about…and it seems to me that putting enough troops on the ground and giving them the authority to search and destroy..no prisoner type of search and destroy..is a better plan than what we have now.
April 10th, 2008 at 1:03 am
“shock and awe” was neither shocking nor awesome. Since our leaders didn’t have the balls to do what needed to be done early on, I doubt they will now.