General Petraeus, Proconsul of Fantasyland

[ensho]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/derrick-crowe/general-petraeus-proconsu_b_764972.html


The gap between General Petraeus' rhetoric and the reality on the ground in Afghanistan grows every day.

Yesterday, the Afghan NGO Safety Office (ANSO) released its quarterly report (.pdf) on the security situation in Afghanistan, which described the continued growth of the Afghan armed resistance and a deterioration of security in areas where ISAF made major military pushes. Yet, today, General Petraeus crowed in London about "progress" made in Afghanistan. Americans are wise to the game and don't buy this sort of clap-trap anymore: most Americans believe the war in Afghanistan is a "situation like Vietnam (.pdf)." Yet Petraeus spins on, damaging his own credibility and fooling no one.

The ANSO report paints a grim picture of the reality on the ground in Afghanistan:

-snip-

Yet on Friday, October 15, General Petraeus laughably attempted to paint "a picture of Afghanistan in which the Taliban's ability to mount attacks is being reduced..." The ABC News coverage of Petraeus' remarks came under the headline, "General Petraeus Upbeat, Cites Signs of Progress in Afghanistan." The subsequent story is little more than stenography, reporting Petraeus' narrative without including information that would challenge the general's false depiction of the situation on the ground. The story even claims--without substantiation--that the insurgency has been "knocked back." That's laughable, and easily disproved. See above.

-snip-

Where Petraeus is succeeding, however, is in demonstrating conclusively just how disconnected the generals are from reality. But as long as President Obama suspends his disbelief and allows their warped version of reality to drive U.S. policy in Afghanistan, we'll continue to waste lives and resources on a failed policy that corrodes the national interests of the United States. The president once declared he was against, "dumb war." It's past time he acted like it and acted aggressively to rein in the Proconsul of Fantasyland.

-snip-
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[icnorth]

1. With the MSM....

anything they "report" on the GOP/Teaparty is little more than "stenography" with some apple polishing applied.

[zipplewrath]

2. Friday Night Follies

Sounds like what we called the "Friday Night Follies" during the Vietnam war.