Final Thoughts on Gen. Petraeus and MoveOn

As far as I am concerned, this is a non-issue and a farce, but the right-wing is still obsessed with it (like I am obsessed with Applebees appetizer samplers), so here's my final thoughts and then I'll... move on. Ah, a pun! And a better one than MoveOn's to boot!

On the surface, the right-wing says they are angry that a group would dare to disparage one specific person all our troops (they are, in actuality, just rhetorically hiding behind the military as usual). This is a ridiculous 'scandal' on a general level, and on the specifics too.

On the general level, this is a democracy. Period. Moreover, it is a democracy based on civilian control of the military. We are not some military junta (ie. Pakistan) where we are ruled by generals. The notion that military leaders themselves are ever not open for criticism or skepticism goes against everything this country stands for.

But more specifically, Gen. Petraeus made himself a political figure-- and a ridiculously partisan one, to boot-- the second that he agreed to be the President's spokesperson and cheerleader for the surge. He surrendered his credibility in doing so.

He apparently spent the majority of August leading congressfolk around the Green Zone and nearby areas in what Sen. Webb called the "dog and pony shows". I had no idea that this was job of the commander of forces in Iraq! He also gave interviews to right-wing talk radio hosts during the summer (like Hugh Hewitt), while denying interview guests from liberal questioners like Alan Colmes and Glenn Greenwald. Etc.

And then, in what I'm sure war defenders still feel was a total coincidence, his super-independent testimony to Congress didn't deviate at all from current White House talking points. No disagreement at all! And, furthermore, the night of his initial testimony, he gave an exclusive interview to Fox News. They, in turn, honored him a week later with a laudatory primetime biographic special.

If this doesn't open Petraeus to charges of partisan hackery, I don't know what does.

Finally, the sheer ridiculousness of this story is summed up in MSNBC's David Shuster's interview with Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). Blackburn, natch, couldn't shut up about the MoveOn ad. But when Shuster asked her, "What was the name of the last solider from your district who was killed in Iraq?"... she didn't know.

All they care about is winning political fights. The war itself? That is unimportant to them.

[PS- The dispute over the numbers/statistics used in Petraeus' testimony continues.]