wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

On Demand

Program Schedule

Topics

The Brian Lehrer Show / April 08, 2008 / Capitol Grill

Capitol Grill

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

General David Petraeus, the top American commander in Baghdad, testifies before the Senate today, and will likely face tough questioning from all three Presidential candidates. The Washington Post's William Arkin offers his analysis.

Programming Note: WNYC and NPR are offering live coverage of the hearings available here.

William Arkin's "Early Warning Blog" at washingtonpost.com


Comments

  • [1] Paulo from Paterson, New Jersey April 08, 2008 - 09:15AM

    It seems to be so hard to find good friends these days... Mr. al-Maliki launched his Basra campaign and unleashed carnage on the city only to be humiliated by its failure, and he had to go hat in hand to IRAN asking for a cease-fire, which the Iranian government successfully negotiated with Sadr. Not even a month later, he's decided to take on the entire Mahdi army (instead of those "rogue" or "criminal" elements that were the targets in the Basra offensive), and he's decided to initiate a new round of violence immediately before Petraeus is to appear before Congress.

    Question: Does he think that images of people fleeing renewed violence is going to sway people in Congress and the American population as a whole? Considering that the Administration has been selling us on this idea that things were improving and quieting down over there, does he really think that renewed rounds of violence are going to be viewed as anything but more of the same? Ratcheting up the violence at this time will only further entrench the idea that any supposed "turning point" is just more government spin and that violence is the natural state which Iraq must inevitably return to. You can tell people that the assaults are good because its our forces launching attacks against our enemies, but the only thing people are going to view positively these days is if today is less violent than the day before.
  • [2] michael winslow from INWOOD April 08, 2008 - 09:59AM

    McCain will lob softball questions at Petraeus and will pat him on the head and praise his every decision.

    Clinton & Obama's grilling will be nothing short of grandstanding.

    Petraeus is irrelevant because Iraq is a disaster after the invasion and will continue to be until the US is out and has been out for years.


  • [3] Robert from NYC April 08, 2008 - 10:35AM

    Tired of this scam the lies and misinformation continues. He IS General Betray-us. He reads from their scripts. We've been there 5 years and if they can't get their sh__together then it's too bad. It's time all the money we've put into Iraq it's gone into the pockets of all those corrupt politician's Swiss bank accounts and fat stomachs. I watch Maliki get fatter and fatter each time I see him on screen. I'm sick of it and it's a sin we will pay for but we have to pull out.
  • [4] Patience April 08, 2008 - 10:37AM

    FYI - Clinton and McCain are members of the Armed Services Committee; Obama is not. Obama is a member of the Foreign Relations committee, where Petraeus and Crocker will also be testifying.
  • [5] licnyc from long island city April 08, 2008 - 11:53AM

    Interesting read about Lt. Gen. (Ret.) William Odom testimony in Congress,

    "it gives me pause to learn that our vice president and some members of the Senate are aligned with al Qaeda on spreading the war to Iran."

    http://www.populistamerica.com/listen_to_the_general_on_iraq_no_not_petraeus

    Not sure about the source but his testimony should be on record

This thread is closed.


Back to Episode