Petraeus won't join bandwagon for Iraq withdrawal timetable ("let's keep our powder dry")

[sabra]

Source: McClatchy Newspapers

BAGHDAD — The top U.S. military commander in Iraq isn't buying the increasingly popular idea of a publicly stated timetable for American troop withdrawal.

Gen. David Petraeus, the Iraq commander, said in an interview with McClatchy that the situation in Iraq is too volatile to "project out, and to then try to plant a flag on a particular date."

With violence at its lowest levels of the war, politicians in both the United States and Iraq are getting behind the idea of a departure timetable. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was first, suggesting he would have combat troops home within 16 months of Inauguration Day. The idea got a big boost during his overseas trip last week, when Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki indicated support for that general timeline.

...

"We occasionally have commanders who have so many good weeks, (they think) it's won. We've got this thing. Well we don't. We've had so many good weeks. Right now, for example we've had two-and-a-half months of levels of violence not since March 2004," he said from his office at Camp Victory.

"Well that's encouraging. It's heartening. It's very welcome. But let's keep our powder dry. . . .Let's not let our guard down."


Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/100/story/45700.html

[Ian David]

1. Keeping our powder dry... and our sticks wet with Duke Cunningham, right General Betrayus? n/t

[Metta]

2. What do you expect from a lap dog?

as if negotiating peace is letting our guard down. Happy karma, general.

[BlooInBloo]

3. Petraeus will follow order or be fucking removed.

[Demeter]

4. Betrayus is Just About 8 Years Too Late to Hitch His Stars to BushCo

Thank God for that!

[yurbud]

5. TRANSLATION: I still want a CEO, board member, or lobbyist job when I'm done here

[tabasco]

14. Bingo! Petraeus already works for corporate profiteers.

He looks forward to his jump in pay after he retires.

There should be a total ban on generals retiring and working for companies that do business with DOD.

The military has become little more than a corporation itself.

[yurbud]

17. That should be part of a Dick Cheney Anti-Corruption Bill

contributions are chump change compared to all the bucks that are thrown their way AFTER they leave office.

[Submariner]

6. Who seriously gives a f*ck what Petraeus thinks

He will do what he is told by President Obama or get court martialed. Petraeus needs to STFU and get ready to do what he is told smartly. Period.

[Zhade]

7. And this is the guy Obama praised?

NT!

[rurallib]

8. I fully expect Petraeus to be the GOP Pres candidate in 2012

So why would he help Obama in any way. We may be looking at a rerun of Truman and MacArthur.

[DCKit]

9. At this rate, we should have enough dry powder to win ten wars.

What's the hold-up?

[Igel]

11. He's actually using the phrase in what's closer to its original meaning.

They actually have something akin to actual powder. They're not rushing, but being cautious.

All this blather about "conditions on the ground" is fine for Obama and McCain (it would be nice if they actually talked about implications of conditions, and what information about the conditions would be used for in practical terms, but that would inevitably and counterproductively avoid essential ambiguity for some temporary clarity), but for Petraeus it's a bread-and-butter issue.

[DCKit]

12. Jeebus, I wasn't taking it literally.

Even in context, how many decades will this go on if they continue to keep their powder dry and never take a political risk?

I want to get off this crazy ride.

[Buns_of_Fire]

15. At this point, I think the US Government has cornered the market on dry powder.

And, also at this point, I think they need a new buzzword to describe their unwillingness to take anything that might remotely be considered as ACTION on an issue.

[defendandprotect]

10. They finally found a corrupt General . .. corrupt and obsessed with

serving his fascist masters ---

[jody]

13. Is it likely Obama will move closer to Ivy-league scholar Petraeus and Petraeus become JCS Chm?

See "Obama says conditions to dictate final Iraq force".

[fjc]

16. This "Betrayus" rhetoric does not help your cause one wit.

Quite the contrary is the case.

[Beetwasher]

18. He Will Do What President Obama Tells Him, Or He Will Be Out Of A Job

n/t

[sofa king]

19. If you wanted to keep it dry, you should have kept your pals from pissing in it.

You know, your pals like KBR, Halliburton, Blackwater, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Bush, Judith Miller....

There's a lot of piss in your powder already, General.

[Malikshah]

20. Yo, Betrayus-- how dry was your powder when you invaded? You little

traitor.