Congressional Democrats: No Time For Petraeus

Congressional Democrats: No Time For Petraeus

Roll Call (note: a newspaper focusing on Congress) reports this morning that General David Petraeus will return from Iraq next week to Washington to meet with members of Congress and discuss the state of affairs in Iraq. The visit coincides with Congressional consideration of the Iraq/Afghanistan funding bill. That bill will be in a conference committee as soon as the House gets around to naming conferees, which hasn’t happened yet (although it may by the time you read this):

The top military commander in Iraq will make a rare visit to Capitol Hill next week but House Democratic leaders - unlike their Senate counterparts - initially declined the Defense Department’s offer of a Members-only closed-door briefing with Army Gen. David Petraeus, according to Congressional and administration sources.

A spokesman for Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) at first acknowledged Tuesday that the Pentagon’s request to have Petraeus give a House briefing had been denied due to “scheduling conflicts” next week. Later on Tuesday, Pelosi’s office contacted Roll Call stating that the Speaker was now working to set up a session…

“It’s puzzling that for the first time that Gen. Petraeus is in the country since he was unanimously confirmed by the Senate that the House has declined an offer to talk to him. We would hope that they would reconsider,” the official said before Pelosi reversed course Tuesday and agreed to set up a House-wide meeting with Petraeus next Thursday.

In contrast, Senate aides confirmed Tuesday that Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) had accepted the invitation and a briefing open to all Senators is scheduled for April 25.

It is no coincidence that Petraeus’ weeklong visit coincides with a potential vote on the supplemental, which has drawn sharp opposition from Bush and Congressional Republicans because it includes benchmarks and provisions on troop withdrawal supported by Democrats…

Pelosi’s initial decision to decline a chamber meeting with Petraeus prompted sharp criticism from House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio).

“This demonstrates a willful refusal to obtain the facts, understand the consequences of withdrawal, or accept the possibility that the new plan for victory just may be showing signs of forward progress,” Boehner said in a statement to Roll Call. “Preventing Gen. Petraeus from briefing Members while delaying funds for the troops and advancing a bill that undermines their mission is downright irresponsible. If I were delaying funding for his soldiers, I wouldn’t want to look the General in the eyes either, but this is a dereliction of duty…”

House Democrats say that the meeting request was initially rejected because it violated standard protocols, noting that briefings ‘are conducted on a regular basis by the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of State.’ Yet it’s surprising that the Senate wasn’t bothered by the violation of protocol. Further, this seems to be the only area where the House Democrats are satisfied with a ‘regular briefing’ from the Secretary. If they thought they could embarrass Petraeus, you can bet he’d be subpoenaed.

Rather, Democrats seem to regard Petraeus’ move as some ‘political stunt’ intended to embarrass them. It shows how committed they are to steaming ahead regardless of the facts, and they just don’t want to risk hearing from the expert in charge of the war effort–he’s liable to disagree.