General Petraeus Testifies Before Congress

Here's a question or exchange you won't hear from the committee as General Petraeus testifies before Congress:

Congressman: Some time ago Bush and Cheney sent a well known general to the United Nations to testify on their behalf. They used him to make their case. They knew that with his integrity and the respect he commanded all across the country, people would believe him.

General Petraeus: Mmhmmm.

Congressman: You know who I'm talking about, don't you?

General Petraeus: Tell me.

Congressman: That would be Secretary of State Colin Powell.

General Petraeus: Yes, I knew Colin back when I was a colonel and he was --

Congressman: How do we know Bush and Cheney haven't done the same thing with you?

General Petraeus: I can tell you right now that I wrote my own testimony. No one at the White House wrote a word of it.

Congressman: Colin Powell wrote his own testimony, too.

General Petraeus: Colin Powell talked about our intelligence on Saddam Hussein's weapons. This argument about war strategy and deployment decisions is different.

Congressman: Not so. The question of whether you're a trustworthy source is what matters here.

General Petraeus: Are you suggesting I'm not trustworthy? I'm here to tell you the truth.

Congressman: Colin Powell thought he was telling the truth. He was a loyal soldier and secretary. He couldn't see that the president and vice-president depended on his reputation for integrity. Now look at his reputation. Bush and Cheney didn't even thank him when he resigned. He left in ignominy while Bush celebrated his second inauguration.

General Petraeus: I've thought about my reputation going into this.

Congressman: Think some more. William Westmoreland and Creighton Abrams both had good reputations before they accepted command of our forces in South Vietnam. Because they served a president who didn't square with the American people, their names are forever associated with failure.

General Petraeus: But that's why I'm here. To point the only way to eventual success. No one in the army wants failure.

Congressman: We've already failed. The only question we have in front of us now is, how can we minimize the cost of our failure? What can we do to regroup and recover?

General Petraeus: My reputation stands with how our soldiers perform in Iraq. If they perform the mission their country gives them, I'm proud of them. I know I'll have their respect.

Congressman: I'm sorry general, but historians aren't going to give a damn about how your soldiers feel, or what they think. We're all proud of our soldiers, you know, and we all respect the hard work you've done over there. But you're going to be judged by the company you keep.

General Petraeus: As I said, the company I keep in Baghdad is the best, because the U. S. Army is the best.

Congressman: You're still having trouble extracting yourself from your military environment. I mean the company you keep here in Washington. Nobody trusts President Bush anymore, so nobody trusts you. That is, no one trusts you unless you prove you're independent of him.

General Petraeus: How do you recommend I do that, congressman?

Congressman: Show that you're willing to be fired. Prove that you're not speaking for the president.

General Petraeus: That's pretty hard. Everyone knows that's just what I'm doing.

Congressman: Well no. You have a chance here to speak your mind entirely. You have a chance here to criticize Bush and Cheney. Can't you see the situation you're in here? You haven't been in Baghdad that long.

General Petraeus: You tell me my situation, congressman.

Congressman: You have a full range of opinion about the war in this room. People have made up their minds about the question of whether the war is a failure or not. People still aren't so sure about the best thing to do, given where we are now.

General Petraeus: Go on.

Congressman: Another thing people are sure about, though most won't say it, is that we need new leadership. Everyone is looking for a new direction from someone who is trustworthy.

General Petraeus: And you've suggested already that our president isn't trustworthy, that we won't receive good leadership from him or his advisors.

Congressman: That's right.

General Petraeus: You think I can give the leadership people need?

Congressman: You're just about the only one at this point, general.

General Petraeus: I serve at the president's pleasure, congressman - I'm not going to deny him in public.

Congressman: That's the problem, isn't it?

General Petraeus: Look, don't you think I should just give my report?

Congressman: People won't listen to you if they think you're presenting the party line.

General Petraeus: That's a Stalinist phrase, you know, "presenting the party line."

Congressman: That's shows you how far we've come since 9/11, general. People see the folks in the White House as nothing more than a pack of propagandists.

General Petraeus: And I can represent the pack, or speak my own mind.

Congressman: That's it, general. You can't just tell us you wrote your own testimony. If you need to tell us that, you have a credibility problem right at the start. You have to show us why we should believe you.

General Petraeus: Alright, I'm willing to lose my job. I'm willing to receive orders to return home.

Congressman: You know what else you can do?

General Petraeus: What?

Congressman: Appear before this committee tomorrow without your uniform.

General Petraeus: You think that's going to make me more trustworthy?

Congressman: That's how far we've come, six years after 9/11. That's how far we've come.