American soldiers on patrol in Baghdad, Iraq, on Jan.29, 2007
When Lieut. General David Petraeus appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee a few weeks ago, he was subjected to a curious line of questioning by Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut. The questions seemed substantive, but they weren't really. They were intended to lure the general into the Senate's political debate over a nonbinding resolution of disapproval of the President's so-called surge policy in Iraq. In the manner of a friendly prosecutor, Lieberman steered Petraeus toward his objective--a clear statement from the general that such a resolution would hurt the morale of our troops in Iraq and give the enemy "encouragement." Petraeus,...
