General David Petraeus Interview

I can’t think of a better first post in the “stay informed” category than this interview with General David Petraeus, the commander of the Multi-National Forces ― Iraq.

Read the interview “General David Petraeus on the conditions on the ground in Iraq” from The Hugh Hewitt Show.

Several main points jumped out at me:

1) No matter what a person’s opinion on the reasons for starting the war, we as liberators have “an enormous responsibility” to the people of Iraq to finish the job that we started. Whether you feel we’re there for good reasons or not, the point is, we’re there now, and “a precipitous withdrawal would have potentially serious implications for important interests that we have in Iraq, in the region.”

2) When watching the evening news, it’s important to remember “the fact that a sensational attack is going to lead.” General Petraeus says, “And I think that occasionally, you know, folks will wince over here and say gosh, you know, they didn’t get the ribbon cutting we did today, or nobody covered the job fair, or the opening of the new police academy, or whatever it might be, because a car bomb went off. Well again, that’s reality, and terrible loss of life, sadly but realistically, is going to bump some feel good stories. So I think that’s just something we have to come to grips with. It is again a fact of life, and such is life.”

3) The “anti-terrorist only” option put forward by many (including Michael Duffy of TIME) seems unrealistic according to the General’s analysis. He says that al Qaeda-Iraq “is a significant enough network in capability that it is not going to be dealt with just by certainly, if you will, classical counterterrorist operations.” Instead, he reminds us that it is a coordinated effort between special forces and “conventional forces.”

4) Finally, to the question, “What do you hear your men and women saying about this mission? Do they think it can be won?” General Petraeus answers, “I think they do…I think individuals are doing all that they can to try to achieve success in this mission here, and that’s the focus of the folks with whom I’m privileged to soldier.”

Anyway, read the whole interview. It’s eye-opening to someone whose news diet is strictly the “we lost ― let’s get the hell out of there” clamoring. He even ends on a little “what are we going to do about it?” note.

I am thankful that we have such an able commander leading our troops in Iraq.


Update:

Also check out this interview with General Petraeus on NPR. I'm kind of surprised by the headline...