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Hero Petraeus admits it

Submitted by Remains of the ... on Fri, 05/29/2009 - 17:05
in

General David Petraeus, CentCom commander and (soon to be former) military hero of the American right, made an admission today on The Fox News Channel:

Question: So is sending this signal that we're not going to use these kind of techniques anymore, what kind of impact does this have on people who do us harm in the field that you operate in? 

Gen. Petraeus: Well, actually what I would ask is, "Does that not take away from our enemies a tool which again have beaten us around the head and shoulders in the court of public opinion?" When we have taken steps that have violated the Geneva Conventions we rightly have been criticized, so as we move forward I think it's important to again live our values, to live the agreements that we have made in the international justice arena and to practice those. 

He hasn't just come out recently in support of closing Guantanamo and against torture, he has now admitted on Fox News that USA has violated Geneva Conventions.

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Comments

I don't care even if he admits to US War Crimes

Submitted by Monique I on Fri, 05/29/2009 - 17:59.

 

But I can't bear him repeat this liberal delusion!

Well, actually what I would ask is, "Does that not take away from our enemies a tool which again have beaten us around the head and shoulders in the court of public opinion?"

Hero to RINO, Oh! No No! LOL

Now our Generals

Submitted by FlyingScot on Sat, 05/30/2009 - 05:04.

are worried about the court of public opinion.

I'm glad Washington, Grant and Patton weren't during their day.

God help us.

Just trying to educate

Submitted by skayne on Sat, 05/30/2009 - 06:51.

Nah, our generals aren't worried about public opinion.

They're just trying to educate people about the reality. But you don't care about reality.

Does proof really not matter to you?

Wow, now's he's a hero

Submitted by Ironman on Sat, 05/30/2009 - 07:24.

Jeez, I thought he was evil not so long ago

Will you lefties make up your mind already?

By the way, given that our strategy has been trying to get our NATO allies to do more in Afghanistan, don;t think that Petraeus isn't keenly aware of the "court of public opnion" and needs to do the dance in that venue.

It will be interesting to read his book after he retires. I suspect he's gonna let loose on folks of both political persuasions. I also think he'll admit the lefty meme of trying to depend on allies to fight wars is an utter waste of time, based on our experience in Afghanistan. Can't say that now, of course.

 

I thought Patraeus was your hero

Submitted by skayne on Sat, 05/30/2009 - 07:34.

He's somebody the right fell in love with. Supposedly you hold him in high esteem. You would think his statements could convince you, but I understand. He was just one of those convenient symbols used by the right.

He's easily replaceable if he starts saying things you don't want to hear.

The truth doesn't matter to you.

lol

Submitted by ldb on Sat, 05/30/2009 - 08:13.

Now now, who are you going to believe, this guy or 5-time-dodger Cheney?

 

 

Public opinion changes the rules for the military brass

Submitted by FlyingScot on Sat, 05/30/2009 - 09:02.

When the the mind is skewed with leftist blather, it's hard putting 2 and 2 together.

We always hear that a president will "listen to his generals" and then make a decision as to what to do, regarding war plans. I know your comeback here- "well, you only like it when the general says what you want him to say" Not so. I want him to be focused on what he's been trained to do as a professional, not to be focused on inside the beltway opinions.

If the General has one ear to the ground listening to pollsters and public opinion back home, it means his attention is taken away from the battle, and hence he cannot give the president that honest unfettered opinion the president despirately needs (one way or the other) in order for the President to make the best call as Commander in Chief.  

That's why it's not best for generals not to listen to the ever changing never stable swaying and kinetic movement of public opinion.

One of the worst generals we've ever had in this country was way too focused on public opinion- his name was Maclellan. His focus on public opinion (especially of himself) elongated the Civil War by at least 2 years. 

observations

Submitted by FlyingScot on Sat, 05/30/2009 - 09:07.

As noted above:

before, the left swore at him, `calling him "Betrayus"

Now they swear by him.

Wishful thinking

Submitted by skayne on Sat, 05/30/2009 - 09:17.

I see now. Patraeus follows public opinion when he agrees with Obama.

What about his speech during the primaries about the necessity of speaking to our enemies, even those who have our soldiers' blood on their hands?

That was a speech he made at the Heritage Foundation. It was also when the right was attacking Obama for wanting to speak to our enemies.

How does a guy, a hero symbol to the right, make a speech like that at a think tank that doesn't share that view if he's worried about public opinion?

what was controversial about that?

Submitted by Ironman on Sat, 05/30/2009 - 09:23.

I recall Lee and Grant had a very cordial meeting at Appamattox.  And every effort to resolve the Troubles in Nothern Ireland has meant legitimizing Sein Fein officials who no doubt were responsible for past violence.

I'm willing to give the military leadership a pretty free reign when it comes to how to achieve victory. Now, again Skayne, who was it that called the man a liar and demanded he be fired?

Are you going to disavow Moveon.org? If not, quit trying to latch on the General's stars.

 

Conservatives go deaf when Patraeus counters their views

Submitted by skayne on Sat, 05/30/2009 - 09:31.

I didn't call him a liar, and I'm not a MoveOn.org member.

Your BS theory is he's paying attention to public opionion.

He made a speech at a think tank that directly counters their policy views. Answer my question. If he's worried about public opinion, how does he make a speech that counters the views of the people he's giving it too.

Conservatives hear only what they want to hear, like you. I only point out what Patraeus says, because people like you thrust him to the fore as a conservative hero. Why do you make excuses for what he says?

Your reaction proves he was just a political shield from the public opinion against the war.

For LyingScot and all the others trying to spin this

Submitted by NextRightNando on Sat, 05/30/2009 - 09:48.

For all of you who are trying to spin this as a case of the General going along to get along (either with Obama or public opinion), two things:

1) first, aren't you even a little bit embarassed to find yourself insulting him in order to justify your own position?

2) how do you explain away this, which General Petraeus wrote in May 2007?

Some may argue that we would be more effective if we sanctioned torture or other expedient methods to obtain information from the enemy. They would be wrong. Beyond the basic fact that such actions are illegal, history shows us that they also are frequently neither useful nor necessary.

 

How the U.S. violates the Geneva Conventions

Submitted by Joseph Hertzlinger on Sat, 05/30/2009 - 22:09.

Of course we've been violating the Geneva Conventions. The Geneva Conventions say quite plainly that tobaaco use must be permitted. That means large parts of the U.S. are violating the Geneva Conventions!