[Update] 2:41pm- General Petraeus just stated in response to a sarcastically asked question, that HE issued his reports to the President, then after the drafts of the President's report that CONGRESS mandated the President to submit and he signed, the President then submitted that report to Petraeus to make sure that what Petraeus has reported is accurately portrayed in the President's report. The same was done with Ambassador Crockers reports.
Petraeus stated very clearly that his report to the President is accurately reflected in the president's report.
TALK ABOUT A QUESTION COMPLETELY BACKFIRING ON THE DEMOCRATS.
[Update] This one is being put on top-- PDF of Ambassador Crockers statement. PDF of the Petraeus statement. The charts General Petraeus used, again PDF format.
I will look for text versions and add them when I find them. (Thanks to Hot Air for supplying these)[End Update]
Ok, that last thread was getting out of hand with all the new information coming in, so I am adding the updated version of the last post which started with asking if the Democrats would be denouncing Move On org and their calling General Petraeus a traitor and just adding the portions here dealing with the testimony given today.
This WILL be updated all day and I as soon as I get my hands on his whole speech and Crockers, I will be putting that here too.
[Updates below] All day updates on the statement from General Petraeus.
General Petraeus speaks: His quote: “This is my testimony…I wrote this testimony myself.”
At the outset, I would like to note that this is my testimony. Although I have briefed my assessment and recommendations to my chain of command, I wrote this testimony myself. It has not been cleared by, nor shared with, anyone in the Pentagon, the White House, or Congress.
Malkin is also live blogging the testimony.
[Update] 10:33am- General Petraeus stated that if progress continues along the lines they are seeing, there will be a draw down of troops to pre-surge levels by 2008.
FYI: Search engines still not showing any democrats denouncing Move On.org and their ad.
[Update] 10:42am- Petraeus is explaing his charts and showing how bombings and violence has declined significantly, especially over the last couple months and more so in the last weeks---- (Note from spree-the last weeks were deliberately left out of the GAO, the group that works for Congress and their recent report.)
[Update] 10:44 am- They are having more hecklers removed as they try to scream over General Petraeus as he is speaking because they do not like his report.
[Update] 10:46 am- He is speaking to Iraqi security forces and showing how they are completely engaged in securing Iraq and out of 140 Iraqi security forces, 95 of them are taking the lead in securing their areas with "minimal" Coalition help.
[Update 11:00am- General Petraeus finishes and more hecklers being removed and Skelton is now threatening that any more disturbances will prosecuted under the law....AFTER he let them to stay TO cause a disturbance.
[Update] 11:02 am- Ambassador Crocker is now speaking.
Crocker: "I will not minimize the enormity of the challenges and at the same time I will show that it IS possible for the United States to achieve their goals and the Iraqis are capable of learning to secure their own country."
[Update] 11:18am- Crocker discussed how on provincial levels political progress is being seen in Iraq. Also he discussed how Anbar tribes have been fighting against al-Qaeda. Talking about Iraq making some gains in rebuilding and economical gains.
[Update] 11:35am- Move America Forward is also live blogging the statements by General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker:
Petraeus:Finally. Gen. David Petraeus is speaking on the troop surge. Here’s a short synopsis:
* Tribal leaders are turning against al-Qaida
* Force levels will begin dropping soon.
* Huge drops in deaths of civilians, allied troops, violence and attacks, though the numbers are still not acceptable
* Coalition and Iraqi troops deal serious blows to al-Qaida
* Troop levels may be reduced by next summer and maintain current security.
* It is possible to meet America’s objectives over time.
“Security situation in Iraq is improving,” Gen. Petreaus said.
Premature drawdown would have devastating effects,” Petreaus said. (Are you listening Armchair Gen. Nancy Pelosi?)Oh, and one other thing. Gen. Petraeus testified he did not allow the White House nor any Senator or even MoveOn.org to see his report before he handed it out on Monday.
So Sens. Durbin, Boxer and Clinton - you may go change your diapers now.
To our troops and their families: Hoorah!!!
Crocker:
As the Pink Scream of the Pepto Bismol babes, Code Pink, was shuttered (thankfully), Ambassador Crocker on Monday said a secure Iraq is attainable.
He is looking at the situation on the ground not from a military standpoint, but as a diplomat. Diplomacy is always tough in a war-torn country - even when that war is fruitful in its creation of peace.
Saddam Hussein left a legacy of fear between foes, friends, and even family, Crocker said.
“A new Iraq had to be built literally from scratch,” Crocker said.
“The past 18 months have further strained Iraqi society,” Crocker said.
Al-Qaida attacks and sectarian violence has gnawed away at Iraq, which is now a traumatized society, Crocker said.
Iraqi politicians need to step up to the plate.
On the good side, many leaders are ready to set aside their sect’s needs first for the sake of the country.
“The seeds of reconciliation are being planted,” Crocker said.
Oil and revenue sharing is important, but what is difficult about these laws is that it takes Iraq one step closer to federalism which not all Iraqis have embraced, Crocker said.
Iraqis are struggling with a horrific past. (Rep. Lantos should know this pain. And he should not look like somebody kicked him in the gut after Gen. Petraeus says U.S. is winning)
“We should not be surprised or dismayed that that Iraqis” are still struggling with these issues,” Crocker said.
Iraq’s five most prominent leaders have agreed on many issues and publicly addressed their desire for a long-term relationship with the United States.
They acknowledged a continued presence of America in their country (kind of like in Japan and Germany and Kosovo, eh, Sen. Kerry?)
[Update]11:45am- As much as I dislike Harry "Baghdad" Reid, I did say I would bring any statements against Move On.org and although Reid calls it a distraction, I have to be fair and say he is the first to "distance" himself with Move On or. for the attack ad against Petraeus. (Hat Tip to Hot Air)
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid expressed frustration Monday with a new print ad attacking Gen. David Petraeus that is being paid for by a liberal advocacy organization on the same day the general is providing testimony before Congress on the situation in Iraq.
When asked early this morning if this was the right message for his party to send, the Nevada Democrat curtly answered “No.”
In a separate conversation, a senior Democratic leadership aide called the ad an “unnecessary distraction
Fair is fair and although he didn't denounce it as strongly as the GOP leadership has, he DID distance himself.
Another Hat Tip to Hot Air, YouTube video of Code Pink being removed after heckling General Petraeus.
Hot Air has something in his updates I did not mention so let me show you that here.
Duncan Hunter:
Duncan Hunter’s ripping on the Petraeus critics and mentions Lantos by name for impugning his testimony as the product of political operatives. He does a good job responding to Lantos’s point that Anbar is only 5% of the population, noting that it used to comprise 50% of the attacks. Now he’s analogizing the left’s opposition to the Iraq war with their opposition to the cold war. Heh. Hunter asks Skelton to stipulate that Petraeus’s and Crocker’s integrity should be stipulated to by the panel — and Skelton complies.
Good for Duncan Hunter!!!!!
[Update] 12:02pm- Ros-Lehtinen calls on the Democrats to distance themselves from the Move On or. ad again!!! Good for her.
[Update] 12:17pm- quote from Roger about Lanto's, via email.
Now Tom Lantos is countering Petraeus expert testimony by qouting JOURNALISTS!! JEEEEZ.
Exactly my first reaction Roger.
[Update] 12:41pm- More protesters arrested for disturbance.
[Update] 12:53pm- Real quick lets remind everyone of General Petraeus' unblemished career and devotion to America, shown in his 35 years of dedicated service:
Here are the credentials of General Petraeus which we showed you yesterday afternoon while showing you how the Democrats, (before Move On anounced their full page ad in the NYT), were already trying to discredit General Petraeus:
General David H. Petraeus assumed command of the Multi-National Force-Iraq on February 10th, 2007, following his assignment as the Commanding General, U.S. Army Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth. Prior to assuming command at Ft. Leavenworth, he was the first commander of the Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq, which he led from June 2004 to September 2005, and the NATO Training Mission- Iraq, which he commanded from October 2004 to September 2005. That deployment to Iraq followed his command of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), during which he led the “Screaming Eagles” in combat throughout the first year of Operation Iraqi Freedom. His command of the 101st followed a year deployed on Operation Joint Forge in Bosnia, where he was the Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations of the NATO Stabilization Force and the Deputy Commander of the US Joint Interagency Counter-Terrorism Task Force-Bosnia. Prior to his tour in Bosnia, he spent two years at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, serving first as the Assistant Division Commander for Operations of the 82nd Airborne Division and then as the Chief of Staff of XVIII Airborne Corps.
General Petraeus was commissioned in the Infantry upon graduation from the United States Military Academy in 1974. He has held leadership positions in airborne, mechanized, and air assault infantry units in Europe and the United States, including command of a battalion in the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and a brigade in the 82nd Airborne Division. In addition, he has held a number of staff assignments: Aide to the Chief of Staff of the Army; battalion, brigade, and division operations officer; Military Assistant to the Supreme Allied Commander - Europe; Chief of Operations of the United Nations Force in Haiti; and Executive Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
General Petraeus was the General George C. Marshall Award winner as the top graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College Class of 1983. He subsequently earned MPA and Ph.D. degrees in international relations from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, and later served as an Assistant Professor of International Relations at the US Military Academy. He also completed a fellowship at Georgetown University.
Awards and decorations earned by General Petraeus include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, two awards of the Distinguished Service Medal, two awards of the Defense Superior Service Medal, four awards of the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal for valor, the State Department Superior Honor Award, the NATO Meritorious Service Medal, and the Gold Award of the Iraqi Order of the Date Palm. He is a Master Parachutist and is Air Assault and Ranger qualified. He has also earned the Combat Action Badge and French, British, and German Jump Wings. In 2005 he was recognized by the U.S. News and World Report as one of America’s 25 Best Leaders.
This is the man that Move On.org is accusing of being a traitor and "cooking the books":
MoveOn.org Calls Petraeus a Traitor
Do Democrats in Congress agree?
by Pete Hegseth
09/09/2007 5:28:00 PM
Tomorrow--as General David Petraeus provides his Iraq assessment to Congress--the antiwar group MoveOn.org is running a full-page advertisement in the New York Times under the headline: "General Petraeus or General Betray us? Cooking the books for the White House."
Let's be clear: MoveOn.org is suggesting that General Petraeus has 'betrayed' his country. This is disgusting. To attack as a traitor an American general commanding forces in war because his 'on the ground' experience does not align with MoveOn.org's political objectives is utterly shameful. It shows contempt for America's military leadership, as well as for the troops who have confidence in him, as our fellow soldiers in Iraq certainly do.
General Petraeus has served this country for over 35 years with honor, distinction, and integrity. And this is not just about General Petraeus. After all, if General Petraeus is "cooking the books," then the entire military chain of command in Baghdad, and all the staff, military and civilian, who have been working with General Petraeus are complicit, since Petraeus did not write his report in isolation. They are all, apparently, 'betray[ing] us.'
MoveOn.org has been working closely with the Democratic congressional leadership --as an article in today's Sunday New York Times Magazine makes clear. And consider this comment by a Democratic senator from Friday's Politico: "'No one wants to call [Petraeus] a liar on national TV,' noted one Democratic senator, who spoke on the condition on anonymity. 'The expectation is that the outside groups will do this for
us.'
General Petraeus was confirmed, unanimously 81-0, (that link is to the roll call vote) and given the job of heading up a new counterinsurgency strategy in Iraq back in February and he received his full compliment of troops a approximately two months ago. [End Update]
More updates to follow.... they are still questioning General Petraeus and his education and expertise is making "some" of those questioners look as uninformed as they are. Especially the ones that are quoting "newspapers" to try to counter General Petraeus and his experience and military expertise.
He is making mincemeat out of them and he is doing it in such a respectful manner, which is high lighting THEIR deliberate disrespect.
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