Hiding Behind the General

Bush has made Petraeus the arbiter of Iraq policy when it should be set by the President

Illustration for TIME by Stephen Kroninger, Petraeus: Susan Walsh / AP

Bush has made Petraeus the arbiter of Iraq policy when it should be set by the President.

California Senator Barbara Boxer almost asked a good question at the Petraeus-Crocker festivities on Capitol Hill this week. She was reminiscing, as most of her colleagues did, about time spent on the ground in Iraq with General David Petraeus, but it was not a recent visit. It was back in 2005, when Petraeus was in charge of training the new Iraqi army. An aide pulled out a blown-up photograph of the Senator and the general. "You were so upbeat, General," Boxer said. "You said, 'You're about to see some terrific troops.'" There were 100,000 of them "ready to go ... You...

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