Gen. Petraeus Prepares His Testimony

Tomorrow, General David Petraeus will deliver his progress report to Congress on the state of things in Iraq. In that country, he faces terrorists' bullets and IEDs while here, in his own country, he is forced to endure the sanctimonious lecturing of liberal politicians who are at the beck and call of radical groups like Code Pink and Moveon.org. Followers of such groups no doubt have had their seats reserved months in advance in order to disrupt the hearings with their shrill catcalls and accusations. They are immediately recognizable, all dressed-up in their chintzy pink costumes. Their shameless extravagances upon entering the hearing room might lead one to speculate whether they are, in the general sense, non compos mentis. At least that would excuse them. It's anybody's guess. I'm all for the expression of an opposing view, so long as it is done civilly but the obscene raucousness of fringe groups is out of the question.

These hearings have become circuses, even more so with the Democrats running the show. It's a painful thing to see, almost nauseating in fact: a four-star general sitting patiently by while feckless politicians perched on their elevated dais and borderline-insane relics from the 1960's roundly impugn his integrity and question his authenticity.

Senators Lieberman and Graham wrote a fine piece about the situation in Iraq for The Wall Street Journal. Excerpts and a link follow.

As late as last September, advocates of retreat insisted that the surge would fail to bring about any meaningful reduction in violence in Iraq. MoveOn.org accused Gen. Petraeus of "cooking the books," while others claimed that his testimony, offering evidence of early progress, required "the willing suspension of disbelief."

Gen. Petraeus will be the first to acknowledge that the gains in Iraq have come at a heavy price in blood and treasure. We mourn the loss and pain of the civilians and service members who have been killed and wounded in Iraq, but adamantly believe these losses have served a noble cause.

No one can deny the dramatic improvements in security in Iraq achieved by Gen. Petraeus, the brave troops under his command, and the Iraqi Security Forces. From June 2007 through February 2008, deaths from ethno-sectarian violence in Baghdad have fallen approximately 90%. American casualties have also fallen sharply, down by 70%.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120752308688293493.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries