that Petraeus COULD be telling the unmitigated truth as he sees it but I am completely unwilling, given the lies and duplicity this administration has shown in the past, to give the general a complete pass on credibility.

You of all people, with your constant talk of the left having ulterior motives of power moves by growing government, should be able to see the enormous power that can be gained by continuing this Iraq War for as long as is possible.

Petraeus, as long as his job and influence are in the hands of George Bush, has a built in credibility problem. Bush has shown the propensity to throw any person to the dogs that has publicly come out and thrown mud his way.

I'm at work and am not able to watch the grilling the Democratic Senators are giving the general but I assume it's brutal and intense. I'm afraid it's a necessary thing now for them to be doing this no matter how honorable this man may be. The person responsible for this flaying is not in the Senate but Bush and his crew. They have created the atmosphere of distrust and lost respect for our leaders, not the senators that are merely growing balls for the first time in their careers.

I hope Petraeus is right, things are improving, and that his "drawdown" of the surge forces is motivated by true gains and not political reality pushed upon him by his micro-managing bosses.

Art