Why General David Petraeus Is Not To Be Trusted

June 18, 2007 at 11:55 am | Posted in American politics, Bush Administration, corruption, Iraq, Military, secret combinations, violence, War, War on Terror | Leave a comment

(Via Dick Polman)

General Petraeus in September 2004 on Iraq:

I see tangible progress. Iraqi security elements are being rebuilt from the ground up. The institutions that oversee them are being reestablished from the top down. And Iraqi leaders are stepping forward, leading their country and their security forces courageously…There are reasons for optimism…Training is on track and increasing in capacity. Infrastructure is being repaired…Progress has also been made in police training…Considerable progress is also being made in the reconstruction and refurbishing of infrastructure for Iraq’s security forces…Iraq’s security forces are developing steadily and they are in the fight. Momentum has gathered in recent months. With strong Iraqi leaders out front and with continued coalition – and now NATO – support, this trend will continue.

Why should we take anything that General Petraeus says seriously? Note that this was two months before November 2004, the worst month for US casualties in Iraq, with 135 some odd dead. And of course, two months before the general presidential election. General Petraeus surely wasn’t trying to influence voters to “stay the course” for Bush. Nah. So why should he be trusted to say anything but what Bush WANTS HIM TO SAY?