TOP US GENERAL IN IRAQ CONTRADICTS THE WAR HAWKS

This week, 'America's General' David H. Petraeus - he who ludicrously claimed, back in 2004 (!), that there were signs of "tangible progress" and "optimism" in Iraq – returned to Capitol Hill to once again brief Senators and Congressmen on the security situation in Iraq in the wake of the recent US military 'surge'.

Surprisingly, under pointed questioning from Senator Evan Bayh (Democrat, Indiana), General Petraeus painted a much more sombre and restrained picture of Iraq than many of his Republican cheerleaders:

"It's why I've repeatedly noted that we haven't turned any corners, we haven't seen any lights at the end of the tunnel. The champagne bottle has been pushed to the back of the refrigerator. And the progress, while real, is fragile and is reversible."

Contrast that with, say, the words of a certain senator from Arizona currently running for President, speaking on the same morning:

"But today it is possible to talk with real hope and optimism about the future of Iraq and the outcome of our efforts there. For while the job of bringing security to Iraq is not finished, as the recent fighting in Basra and elsewhere vividly demonstrated, we're no longer staring into the abyss of defeat and we can now look ahead to the genuine prospect of success."

Notice the difference?