I am watching the Live Video feed of General Petreaus. I will try to give some live blog coverage, but may get called away from the computer.

Rep. Ike Skelton (D-MO) (Chairman – House Armed Services Committee) is speaking.

Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA) (Chairman – International Relations) is up.

Does General Petreaus even need to be there, or are they all just going to bash what he is about to say, and the President?

Lantos – “I don’t buy it” preemptive commentary. “It’s failed”

So far all that I’ve heard is, we don’t care what you have to say, you’re going to do it our way.

Duncan Hunter (R-CA) (Ranking member – Armed Services committee) “Spent the last week attacking the credibility of the witness.” Mentions Moveron.org ad.

[Note: many of the quotes will be paraphrased. Quotes and paraphrased quotes will be in quotation marks. I will put "quotes" that are my thoughts in italics.]

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) (Ranking member – International Relations) “We can’t rely on accommodation”.

General Petreaus – His mic isn’t working. (Waiting for the House AV Club?)

{Several people making disturbances have been removed. I am betting there will be more.}

5 minute break while they work out the technical issues. Does anyone else find this humorous?

Fixed. General Petreaus – “This assessment is mine.” “Iraqi forces have been standing and fighting, and sustaining losses.” “Can reduce the troop level to pre-surge level by next summer.” Says the large part of the violence is due to ethno-secterian forces. Overall improvement seen.

“al-Qaeda not defeated, but it is diminished.” “The most significant development in the past six months – tribes and local citizens rejecting al-Qaeda and violence.” “Other tribes inspired by the actions in Anbar.” “Iraq is spending more on security then it receives in support from the US.”

Report title – “Security while Transitioning – (I missed the sub title)”

Stepping down force strength between December 2007 and July 2008. Hesitant to project further into the future.

Ambassador Crocker {after some more protesters are removed} “It is possible for the United States to see it’s goals realized in Iraq.” “The process will not be quick, it will be uneven, and there will be setbacks.” “A sober assessment, but not a disheartening one.”

“Understanding where Iraq is now requires knowing where they’ve been.”

“Iraq is, and for some time will remain, a traumatized society.”

“We should not be surprised or dismayed that the Iraqi’s haven’t reached answers on these issues, but should look at how they are addressing them.” Gains more pronounced on the provincial level. “al-Queada overplayed it’s hand in Anbar.”

[NOTE: I will have to leave for a little while to make a school pick up. If anyone wants to keep things up in the comments until I get back, please do!]

“2006 was a bad year in Iraq. 2007 has brought some improvements. Change the dynamics for the better. Much harder for terrorists to make attacks.”

“Thanks to the support of Congress we have an appropriate civilian presence in Iraq.”

[NOTE: Time to go. I'll be back as soon as possible.]

[BACK: I am too old and too out of shape (read:fat) to be walking that far in 90 degree heat.]

Rep. Leo Berman (D-CA) Q about al-Qaeda in Iraq – “How many more are their to capture or kill? Are we creating more terrorists?”

GP – Best estimate several thousand plus “affiliated groups.”

Rep. Jim Saxton (R-NJ) (Recounting previous meetings with General P.) {More idiots taken into custody.} “What will be the result if we leave to soon?”

AC – “I don’t have a crystal ball. I can’t say for certain. Iran and their proxies will assume ascendancy.”

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) “Genocide if we leave prematurely? Are there better benchmarks that could be used to measure progress?”

GP – Recognize the organizations and groups that are willing to stand up against the enemy.

Rep. Solomon Ortiz (D-TX) What are the diplomatic policies?

GP – There have been diplomatic efforts and others need to be pursued. “We have to look at the internet resources the enemy is using as well.”

AC – We have to apply more pressure to regional players.

Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY) “This is not part of the international war on terror.” “We’re trying to be in the middle of a violent, dysfunctional family.” “Why aren’t you making this claim.” “Why we wait for this to happen how much more blood will be shed?” “Will this be worth it four years from now?”

GP – al-Qaeda Iraq is a part of al-Qaeda. They have poured gas on all ready burning embers.

{He doesn’t want to hear the answer.}

Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN) “Is al-Queda Iraq part of the greater war on terror?”

GP – “Yes.”

Rep. B. “Would abandoning Iraq be a plus or minus to the overall war on terror?”

{Not sure if it was Dan Burton. Thought I heard him say he was from NY. Can’t find a Rep. Burton from NY. ???}

Rep. Donald Manzullo (R-IL) “Is our presence in Iraq hindering our ability to fight al-Qaeda world wide?”

GP – A better question for the General overseeing the overall war.

Rep. Gene Taylor (D-MS) “When I was in Iraq it looked to be an all American show.”

GP – They are there.

Rep. Taylor – I want a date when we are going to leave.

GP – This process is ongoing. We have a provincial Iraqi control document. Will be provided.

Rep. Eni Faleomavaega (D-American Samoa) “Can we fight on two fronts?” Strain on the military.

GP – The effect on the forces was taken into consideration as I made my recommendations. Says that he is focused on the mission in Iraq, not best equipped to answer questions about the general state of military readiness.

{This was much easier before the house filled back up. )

{I was away. Who is this speaking?}

Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ) “Why is it taking the Iraqi army so long to become efficient?” Contends that Iraq is worse off then before al-Qaeda came into the picture.

GP – The tribal leaders want to be part of the process. Until they came to grips with the Taliban like nature of al-Qaeda. They want to have their place at the table. They are starting over in many ways. They didn’t even have a Ministry of Defense building. Use the example: “This is like building the worlds largest aircraft while it’s in flight and while it’s being shot at.”

{Taking a 5 minute break. Good. I can use one!}

While they are taking this break let me welcome all the readers from Pajama’s Media. Please take a look around, and come back to visit again some time. By the way, your comments are welcomed and encouraged.

Returning now.

Rep. Howard McKeon (R-CA) – Tell us about the claim that the “Army is broken.”

GP – What impresses me is that they (troops) continue to raise their right hand and continue to volunteer for additional tours. Morale is an individual thing and can come down to the kind of day you’re having.

Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH) Asks again about morale.

GP – Repeats that it is an individual state, but overall it is “solid.” Know the the men and women to the right and left of them share the same devotion to duty.

[NOTE: The video is starting to break up. I don't know if the problem is on their end or mine.]

{I don’t know to who’s question this is a response.} GP – You reconcile with your enemies, not your friends. That’s why it’s called reconciliation.

GP Explains the difference between Iraqi forces that are acting on their own and a report that says the Army is to ready to act on its own. He says that those are two different things. While individual units are acting on their own, the army as a whole still has to build up the institutions that can support those groups.

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) “If Congress passes a law that says no funds can be used for fighting in Iraq and the President says fight in Iraq, what do you do?” “The country wants the Petraeus report.” “Wants hundreds of pages, written in Baghdad by you.”

Idiot.

{Sorry. Getting homework started, adults out the door to work, cousins out the door home, things are a bit hectic this time of day.}

Rep. Walter Jones, Jr. (R-NC) What kind of country will Iraq become. (That’s a wildly paraphrased version.)

AC – “That is really the question. That is the challenge. Iraqis will have to work through that. Perhaps federalism is the way this country needs to go.” There are no easy quick answers. There is no magic switch that can be thrown to make the politics come together. It will take their resolve and our backing to make this happen.”

[couldn't see the name of the questioner.] “Where is the line between giving them space to make the decisions they need to make and providing cover for them not to do anything.”

AC – “Our leaving early may very well push them in the wrong direction.”

{Same questioner} “Other than the military, what leverage can we use?”

AC – “That’s some pretty good leverage.”

Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) “What is the political solution we are moving towards?”

AC – “Changing course now could have some very nasty humanitarian consequences. According to the Iraq constitution Iraq is a Federal State. The debate is what kind of Federal State will they become.” “Iraq can stabilize as a Federal State.”

{Don’t know who} “It’s become obvious to me (after saying I don’t believe a thing you’ve said today) that Iraq won’t step up until we step out.”

“Why should we believe that your assessment today is any more accurate than your assessment three years ago?”

GP – “I still stand by it. I said at the time that there were still improvements to be made. I was saying that things were on track. They were. Sectarian violence tore much of the advances down.” “We have made changes to that that allow the military advances to occur.”

AC – “As security conditions stabilize we see progress in local councils and regional councils.”

Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) “The BBC and ABC polls say Iraqis want us out.” “Do you have different data?” It’s worse, we’re evil, why aren’t we out? I don’t really have a question, I just want to bash the administration, you, and our military.

AC – “Polling in Iraq is not exactly an exact science.”

Rep. S – “I think they can count better than most of the Generals in Iraq.”

Adjourned.

I am exhausted. My respect for the General and Ambassador for performing admirably in these hearings is profound.

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That headline could have two interpretations. Of course most political and news junkies know that General Petraeus will be speaking before Congress today. Some have concluded, before he has said a word, that the General’s assessment is wrong.

“The reality is that, although there has been some mild progress on the security front, there is, in fact, no real security in Baghdad or Anbar province, where I was dealing with the most serious problem, sectarian violence,” said Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., a 2008 presidential candidate who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

[...]

Biden said Petraeus’ assessment missed the point. Biden said focusing on a political solution, such as by creating more local control, was the only way to foster national reconciliation among warring factions.

“I really respect him, and I think he’s dead flat wrong,” Biden said.

Biden contended that Bush’s main strategy was to buy time and extend the troop presence in Iraq long enough to push the burden onto the next president, who takes office in January 2009, to fix the sectarian strife.

“This president has no plan — how to win and how to leave,” Biden said.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., agreed. “The problem is, if you don’t have a deadline and you don’t require something of the Iraqis, they’re simply going to use our presence as cover for their willingness to delay, which is what they have done month after month after month,” he said.

“I think the general will present the facts with respect to the statistics and the tactical successes or situations as he sees them,” Kerry said. “But none of us should be fooled — not the American people, not you in the media, not us in Congress — we should not be fooled into this tactical success debate.”

The other take on the headline I used could be the little tidbit I found in the last paragraph of this story.

Meanwhile, a New York Times/CBS News Poll found that Americans trust military commanders far more than the Bush administration or Congress to bring the war in Iraq to a successful end. Five percent of Americans said they most trust the Bush administration to resolve the war, the poll found; 21 percent said they would most trust Congress; and 68 percent expressed the most trust in military commanders.

Count me in that 68 percent.

UPDATE: The live hearing is starting now. I am posting on it here.

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The coffee is prepared in such a way that it makes those who drink it witty: at least there is not a single soul who, on quitting the house, does not believe himself four times wittier that when he entered it. ~ Charles de Secondat Montesquieu

Captain’s Quarters (Ed Morrissey) Was McCain Right?

Does this make Baghdad safe? No, but it makes it safer, and the momentum appears on the side of the Iraqi government. The remarkable change has come even with half of the surge troops yet to arrive. What’s the difference? Strategy and rules of engagement. General David Petraeus has made a big difference already, and given enough time, could leave us with a stable and functional Iraq.

Blue Crab Boulevard (Gaius) Iran To Free British Hostages

Well, hopefully the Iranians won’t renege on their promise, anyway. Mad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced he was “pardoning” the captured British sailors and marines and would allow them to leave Iran. Damned nice of him to grant them a pardon for Iran’s piracy, isn’t it. But hopefully, they are going home soon.

Sister Toldjah The Pelosi Syria visit and the three Republicans’ Syria visit: The differences and why they matter

Nancy Pelosi is there to represent the Democratic party’s interests – and her own interests, which are, in no particular order, power, power, and power – thrown in with a mixture of defiance and callous indifference to how the actions of her and her “delegation” may affect US/Syrian relations (which are already strained as it is).

Stix Blog (Stix) The War on Terror is over

So now the GWOT is a no-no. Maybe we should just bend over and drop our drawers for Islamists. How about we have all females wear the Hijab and never go to school again. This is what our enemy wants, and will stop at nothing to bring about a global Umma.

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