Petraeus' September Report Will Be Written By The White House

Petraeus' September Report Will Be Written By The White House

thinkprogress.org

Despite Bush’s repeated statements that the report will reflect evaluations by Petraeus and Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, administration officials said it would actually be written by the White House, with inputs from officials throughout the government.

And though Petraeus and Crocker will present their recommendations on Capitol Hill, legislation passed by Congress leaves it to the president to decide how to interpret the report’s data..

(visit the link for the full news article)

This is totally ridiculous!

This is a report to let the President and Congress know how things are going in Iraq, a report from Gen. David Petraeus and the US ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker.

BUT, Bush just can't stop manipulating everyone and everything around him!

This is suppose to be a report by Gen. David Petraeus and the US ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker. A report that was suppose to be written by two people who are in Iraq and can actually see what is going on there. The report is suppose to be written by these two men, but NOOOO, now it is going to be "written by the White House, with inputs from officials throughout the government". So, how can this be their report on Iraq when other "officials" are putting their "input" into their report.

HOW can you get an accurate idea of what's going on in Iraq and how things are going when people in the White House are the ones "writing" the reports and not the actual people that are "hands on" in Iraq?

I also like the part that says that,"Congress leaves it to the president to decide (The Decider) how to interpret the report’s data".

What, do we have a bunch of numbskull's in Congress that can't interpret what a report is saying, so the president has to interpret it for them?

And of course, if Bush is the only person who can decipher the "data" in the report, (that the White House wrote), well, then I guess we're going to hear the same old BS, "we're having great success in Iraq, great things are being done there, we just need more time".


thinkprogress.org
(visit the link for the full news article)


[edit on 15/8/07 by Keyhole]

Here is another article on this subject/matter, it's mostly on the second page of the article:

Top General May Propose Pullbacks

According to the officials, Gen. David H. Petraeus is expected to propose the partial pullback in his September status report to Congress, when both the war's critics and supporters plan to reassess its course. Administration officials who support the current troop levels hope Petraeus' recommendations will persuade Congress to reject pressure for a major U.S. withdrawal.

The expected recommendation would authorize U.S. commanders to withdraw troops from places that have become less violent and turn over security responsibilities to Iraqi forces.

But it does not necessarily follow that Petraeus would call for reducing the overall number of troops in the country. Instead, he could move them to another hot spot, or use them to create a reserve force to counter any rise in violence.

It'll be interesting to see how Bush "decides (The Decider) how to interpret the report’s data".

So far we are not hearing anything from Petraeus that says his report will recommend more troops. But, Bush has been given the power to decide what the report is actually saying.


[edit on 15/8/07 by Keyhole]

Nothing like a good trial balloon!

All signs are pointing to great progress in Iraq. Democrats hate good news, so I fully expect this point of view to considered mainstrean within the next few weeks.

The Petraeus Report is likely to be so glowing, that he is going to recommend troop reductions!

Anything good in Iraq or for America is general, is terrible news for Democrats. Watch the spin begin!

Of course the report is going to be glowing.

Despite Bush’s repeated statements that the report will reflect evaluations by Petraeus and Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, administration officials said it would actually be written by the White House