Fact Checking Petraeus - Withdrawal Due to Broken Military, Not ‘Progress’

[cui bono]

First up: Think Progress...

FACT CHECK: Petraeus To Withdraw Troops Next Summer Because Of Broken Military, Not ‘Progress’

In today’s hearing, Gen. David Petraeus suggested that he will withdrawal 30,000 troops from Iraq next summer, citing that “security gains” and future progress due to the escalation have allowed the move:

Based on all this and on the further progress we believe we can achieve over the next few months, I believe that we will be able to reduce our forces to the pre-surge level of brigade combat teams by next summer without jeopardizing the security gains that we have fought so hard to achieve.

The traditional media has largely accepted Petraeus’s spin. The New York Times reported that “the hard-won progress made in Iraq” permitted the withdrawal. “{S}ecurity progress in Iraq should allow” withdrawal next summer, reported Bloomberg. The “President’s troop escalation plan in Iraq had met its military objectives” according to Petraeus, stated ABC.

But in reality, security and political progress in Iraq is nonexistent. Petraeus, who has said he wants to stay in Iraq for 9-10 years, is in fact reducing troop levels next summer because the escalation has overstretched and overburdened the military to its breaking point.

Several current and former Bush administration officials have publicly warned for several months that current troop levels cannot be sustained past next summer:

Joint Chiefs Chairman Peter Pace: Pace “is expected to advise President Bush to reduce the U.S. force in Iraq next year by almost half” and “is likely to convey concerns by the Joint Chiefs that keeping well in excess of 100,000 troops in Iraq through 2008 will severely strain the military.” <8/24/07>

more...
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/09/10/surge-next-summer/

From the Democratic Caucus's Senate Journal:

Fact Check: Today's Testimony Offers Few Answers

Today in his prepared remarks, General Petraeus made the following statements regarding sectarian violence in Iraq. Unfortunately, his remarks raise as many questions as answers.


General Petraeus Claimed the Pentagon’s Methodology for Tracking Sectarian Killings Was Reviewed By Two US Intelligence Agencies, But Did Not Name Them.

* However, U.S. Intelligence Officials Questioned Pentagon’s Methods of Tracking Violence in Iraq.

* A Military Spokesman Admitted It Did Not Track Shiite-on-Shiite or Sunni-on-Sunni Violence.
* And, the GAO Found Claims of Decreased Sectarian Violence Could Not Be Verified.


General Petraeus Claimed the Number of Car Bombings Has Come Down.

* However, The Military Does Not Include Car Bombings in Sectarian Violence Statistics.

* And, The Number of Car Bombings In Iraq Was Five Percent Higher in July 2007 than in December 2006.


General Petraeus Claimed the Number of Ethno-Sectarian Deaths Has Come Down By Over 55 Percent.

* However, The Overall Death Toll in Iraq Has Risen.

* And The Comptroller General Said There Were Various Sources of Violence Statistics in U.S. Government Which Did Not Agree.

Details here: http://democrats.senate.gov/journal/entry.cfm?id=282187&

[whistle]

1. That translates to the U.S. will not be able to defend itself against

...outside enemies or inside enemies

[cui bono]

2. Yep.

And the whole world knows it.