In September 2007, Gen. David Petraeus and Amb. Ryan Crocker offered very high-profile testimony in Congress on the state of the war in Iraq. At the time, it was characterized as some kind of watershed moment, with Petraeus and Crocker assuring officials and the nation that progress is right around the corner, and with some more time, we can turn this thing around.
With the benefit of hindsight, the hype surrounding the congressional hearings last September didn’t live up to their billing. The Bush administration’s policy didn’t change, congressional Democrats couldn’t muster the votes to force the president’s hand, American public opinion was unaffected, and Iraqis are no closer to achieving political progress now than they were then. Arguably the only memorable angle to the entire ordeal was the “Betray Us?” ad MoveOn.org placed in the New York Times.
With this in mind, expectations for this week’s sequel are low.
In a reprise of their testimony last September, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker plan to tell Congress today and tomorrow that security has improved in Iraq and that the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has taken steps toward political reconciliation and economic stability.
But unlike in September, when that news was fresh and the administration said a corner had been turned, even some of the war’s strongest supporters in Congress have grown impatient and frustrated. Petraeus, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, and Crocker will face many lawmakers who had expected more by now and who are wondering whether any real change will occur before the clock runs out on the Bush administration.
“I think all of us realize we’re disappointed at where we are,” Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) said at a hearing last week. Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) asked, “How do we get out of this mess?” While the cost in U.S. lives and money increases, said another senior GOP senator, who spoke on the condition of anonymity: “We cannot … just say we’re coasting through and waiting for the next president.”
Actually, that’s precisely what we’re going to hear from the administration. And while congressional Republicans will make noises about “impatience” and “disappointment,” very few are prepared to vote with the Democratic majority to change the policy, meaning we’ll necessarily have to wait for the next president.
To be fair, it appears there may be at least some semblance of a consensus around changing one aspect of the administration’s Iraq policy: spending lots of U.S. dollars on building the infrastructure of a country with $30 billion in reserves.
Among the questions these and other lawmakers said they plan to ask Petraeus and Crocker is why the United States is still paying for Iraqi domestic needs ranging from military training to garbage pickup when the Maliki government has $30 billion in reserves — held in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Bank for International Settlements in Switzerland — as well as $10 billion in a development fund, significant budgetary surpluses from previous years and a projected 7 percent economic growth rate for 2008.
Sen. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.), chairman of the Armed Services Committee, and Sen. John W. Warner (Va.), the panel’s ranking Republican, who projected that Iraqi oil income would reach $56.4 billion this year, asked the Government Accountability Office last month to investigate how much money the Iraqi government has.
“I think it’s a very significant issue that has not had sufficient exposure,” Levin said in an interview. “They’re perfectly content to watch us spend our money while they build up these huge cash reserves from oil windfalls. It’s a real stick in our eye, as far as I’m concerned.”
Republicans might be willing to vote with Dems on this one. Something to keep an eye on.
As for questions, the New York Times had an editorial today noting, “Among the questions General Petraeus needs to answer is when will the Iraqi Army be ready to fight? How — after all of the American training and effort — does he explain the 1,000 defections in Basra? And why should Americans believe that his strategy deserves more time or has a real chance of success?”
And speaking of questions, in September, Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) asked Petraeus if the current strategy in Iraq “is making America safer.” The general responded, “Sir, I don’t know actually.”
Expect to hear the same inquiry today. I have a hunch Petraeus will be prepped for it this time.