WASHINGTON (AFP) — The US Senate on Thursday voted to confirm the promotion of General David Petraeus, currently the top US general in Iraq, to head all US operations in the Middle East, including the war in Afghanistan.
Petraeus, the architect of the troop surge escalation strategy credited by the Bush administration with improving security in Iraq, will be promoted to run US Central Command.
The vote was 95-2 in the 100-member Senate on the Petraeus nomination.
Though I haven't located a breakdown as to who voted in favor, the dissenting votes came from Democrats Robert Byrd and Tom Harkin. Byrd reportedly voted against in part because he preferred to see Petraeus stay in charge of operations in Iraq.
What about the presidential candidate who held two consecutive press conferences to make clear his commitment to a rapid redeployment timetable? Barack Obama said back in April that he would vote to confirm Petraeus as head of Centcom."Yes," Obama told "Fox News Sunday" when asked if, as a senator from Illinois, he would approve Petraeus. "I think Petraeus has done a good tactical job in Iraq."And what of Democratic presidential runner-up Hillary Clinton? Clinton famously told Gen. Petraeus that his report to Congress required "a willing suspension of disbelief." That's a kind way of calling somebody either delusional or a liar (or both). It appears that Clinton was able to engage her suspension of disbelief and find the deluded/liar Petraeus worthy to command our troops.
Isn't that nice?
Moments like this one give me some faint hope that Democrats aren't as agonizingly stupid regarding national security issues as they ordinarily appear. Plus it's fun watching Obama and Clinton supporters try to reconcile the various behaviors coming from their preferred candidates.
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