Nashville Democratic Congressman Jim Cooper will be among the politicians watching and listening to General David Petraeus today as he testifies on the progress of the President’s troop surge in Iraq.
Cooper says General Petraeus has been the subject of most of the attention surrounding the report, but Cooper says the military seems to be doing well in a difficult situation.
“The big failure is political reconciliation in Iraq. That’s the congress that took the month of August off even though they’re in a war-torn country. That’s the president Maliki who doesn’t know whether to favor the Shia or the Sunni, or seems spineless. So the ambassador, Ryan Crocker, will have the most important testimony. Everyone will be listening to Petraeus, the General, but he’s doing a pretty good job. It’s the politicians who are not doing a very good job.”
Cooper did says even though the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, will have to toe the Bush administration’s political line, he says Crocker will have been the most in touch with Iraqi politicians.
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