New day, same tired story

aka - The Petraeus Report On Iraq...

I'll do a more complete post after the hearing is complete, but I was struck by a couple of Gen. Petraeus' assertions in his opening statement.

...He claimed that they *might* be able to draw down troop levels to pre-surge levels. By sometime next year. [My take - Yeah, just in time for next year's elections.]

That means 130,000 troops in Iraq instead of the current 168,000.

Not exactly an improvement, that.

...His statement was a call for an indefinite occupation of Iraq. A Forever War, nothing less.

...He also stated that he wrote his statement himself and did not have it vetted by the White House, Pentagon, or any members of Congress.

That may or may not be true, but *if* he did write the statement without interference from any of those groups, it's only because he was going to say what they wanted him to say anyway.

...AP coverage here; they're already buying into the "withdrawing troops to pre-surge is a real improvement" BS.

More later...