Stuck on Stupid II
Here’s a look at General David Petraeus’ upcoming September remarks on Iraq in Washington D.C., if he uses the “media techniques” adopted by Lieutenant General Russel ‘The Ragin Cajun’ Honore after Hurricane Katrina:
Gen Petraeus: Let me go back, because I can see right now, we’re setting this up as ‘he said, he said, we said’. Alright? We are not going to leave, by order of the President and Secretary of Defense, the Iraqi people unable to protect themselves and provide terrorists the opportunity to come in and take over Iraq and dishonor the sacrifices our servicemen and women have made. There is progress going on there. Is that clear to you? Progress. Positive signs. There are terrorists there also. There are cells of special terrorist groups network known for facilitating the transport of weapons and explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs, from Iran to Iraq, as well as bringing militants from Iraq into Iran for terrorist training. Is that clear? Terrorists. Is that clear to the public?
Female reporter: When do you plan to withdraw…?
Gen Petraeus: That’s not your business.
Male reporter: But General, more troops didn’t work the first time?
Gen Petraeus: Wait a minute. It didn’t work the first time. This ain’t the first time. Okay? If…we don’t control Baghdad and its surrounding neighborhoods than security can’t take place, you understand? So there are a lot of pieces of it that’s going to be worked out. You got good hardworking troops working through it. All of America appreciates enormously what they’re doing and that they really should be very, very proud of what they’re part of. Tom Brokaw, who, as you know, wrote the book, “The Greatest Generation” about the World War II generation, was with us one day and after he saw all that our troopers were engaged in, he turned to me before leaving and said to me, surely, this is the new greatest generation. I really agreed with that then and I still do very much. They’re great Americans, special in so many ways and we’re very fortunate to have them serving in uniform serving our country.
Male reporter: General, have we lost this war?
Gen Petraeus: Let’s get a little trust here, because you’re starting to act like this is your problem. You are carrying the message, okay? What we’re doing is winning the Iraqi hearts and minds. When troops went on cordon-and-search operations, they took care to tell each homeowner, “Thank you for allowing us to search your home.” Civil-military-affairs teams returned to the neighborhood afterward to explain why they had been there. We’re also heartened by the number of Iraqi tribes and local citizens who have rejected al Qaeda. We cannot attribute that to the surge but the surge certainly enabled that to move much more rapidly, we believe, than it otherwise would have.
Female reporter: When will the surge end and troops begin to go home?
Gen Petraeus: We’re not going to announce that at this time, until we get a plan set, and we’ll let people know when that time comes, through the government, and through public announcements. Right now, it’s very well known and the Secretary of Defense and others have all been very clear that the surge has always been viewed as something that is temporary and the Army, the Marine Corps cannot maintain the surge levels of forces. I expect we need a bit more time, certainly, to have a sense of where we’ll be in a few months. We’ll do this in a way that does not surrender gains that our soldiers have fought very hard to achieve as you would imagine.
Male reporter: General Petraeus, we were told that our troops would be coming home by the end of 2007. That the surge would be over by the time of this report…
Gen Petraeus: Not to my knowledge. Again, the current plan, I just told you one time, is to continue the surge for a bit more time. Once we complete the surge, with the Secretary of Defense and approval of the President, then we’ll start to look at the surge level of forces.
And we understand that there’s a problem in getting communications out. That’s where we need your help. But let’s not confuse the questions with the answers. The surge is working and progress is being made throughout Iraq, for whom we have sworn that we will support and defend…and we’ll move them on. Let’s not get stuck on withdrawal. You’re asking withdrawal and defeat questions for people who are concerned about the continuing progress and victory on the battlefield.
Don’t get stuck on stupid, reporters. We are moving forward. And don’t confuse the people please. You are part of the public message. So help us get the message straight. And if you don’t understand, maybe you’ll confuse it to the people. That’s why we like follow-up questions. But right now, the surge is working and progress is being made…move on.
Male reporter: General, a little bit more about when our troops will withdraw and finally come home?
Gen Petraeus: You are stuck on stupid. I’m not going to answer that question. We are going to deal with this surge and terrorists. This is public information that people are depending on the government to put out. This is the way we’ve got to do it. So please. I apologize to you, but let’s talk about the future. Progress is happening. And right now, we need to get good, clean information out to the people that they can use. And we can have a conversation on the side about downsizing the surge forces, in a couple of months.
Sometimes the war defines the General. At other times, the General defines the war.
Patrick
Today’s Chuck Norris “fact”: Chuck Norris sheds his skin twice a year.
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