Washington’s influential think tanks offered different verdicts Monday on Gen. David Petraeus’ historic report to Congress.
The Center for American Progress, formed by former Clinton administration officials, continued to press for a faster withdrawal of troops than advocated by Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq.
Recommended Stories
It issued a news release, “Unspinning the Petraeus Report,” that said, “General Petraeus claims the troop surge in Iraq has made significant progress. But the claims don’t match the facts.”
The center’s P.J. Crowley said Petraeus’ plan for a gradual troop withdrawal must be weighed against the stretched armed forces and the need for troops in Afghanistan. “Ultimately the president must decide along with Congress whether the marginal improvements in security in Iraq are worth the cost the United States is bearing, now at least $10 billion per month,” Crowley told The Examiner. “Iraq is a front in the war on terror that we unfortunately created when we invaded, but it is not the only front, which in my view is Afghanistan and Pakistan.”
Democratic analyst Michael O’Hanlon of the Brookings Institution, who has become one of the most prominent supporters of the surge, praised Petraeus in a column Monday for National Review Online.
“General Petraeus is a straight shooter who does not and will not cook the books,” O’Hanlon wrote.
Some liberal groups, most notably MoveOn.org, portray the four-star general as part of the White House public relations team.
Petraeus, however, has the support of the American people. A Gallup Poll showed that 63 percent trust Petraeus’ Iraq recommendation, compared with only 38 percent who have faith in President Bush’s prescription for the war-torn country.
A New York Times/CBS poll found only 22 percent of respondents want a withdrawal of all forces in the next year. But 73 percent said the troop surge either has had no impact or has made things worse.
