Big News Orgs Finally Getting It Right On "Petraeus Report"!
August 31, 2007 -- 10:13 AM EST // //
Since this blog yelled so much about this last week, it seems only fair to give credit where it's due: The big news orgs are now getting it right on the "Petraeus report."
They are indicating accurately now that this report is not going to be Petraeus' but in fact will be the work of the White House -- i.e., the same crew that lied us into the war, has been lying for years to keep us there, and will continue to lie this fall in a last-ditch effort to stretch things out as long as possible.
The top American officials in Iraq, Army Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, are to present their assessments on how calm things are at eagerly awaited Congressional hearings in mid-September. Their findings, and a White House report due Sept. 15, are seen as a potential trigger for a change in Iraq strategy.The Washington Post, today:
During the week of Sept. 10, Congress will hear a progress report on the war from the U.S. commander in Baghdad, Gen. David H. Petraeus, and the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan C. Crocker. After those hearings and a formal report from President Bush, lawmakers will renew their debate on the war.The Washington Post, today:
Democrats seized on the GAO draft conclusions, first reported in yesterday's Washington Post, to warn that President Bush would be likely to distort the Iraq situation when he makes his own report to Congress in mid-September after long-awaited testimony by Gen. David H. Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Iraq, and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker.The Associated Press, today:
Jones briefs Congress next week on his assessment of the Iraqi security forces, and Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, testify the week of Sept. 10. Bush will deliver his own progress report by Sept. 15.CNN, yesterday:
MCINTYRE (on camera): So, while General Petraeus will not be issuing a formal report, there will be no shortage of reading material next month. In addition to an independent review of Iraqi forces, both the White House and the Government Accountability Office will issue separate reports on Iraqi benchmarks....of course, there's still a bit of boneheaded behavior going on, such as this from Time magazine (via Nexis):
Few expect any significant change in the overall war strategy when the White House releases Petraeus' report on the surge by Sept. 15.Not sure why it took so long to get these simple facts right, but so be it.
Now the big test will be whether the big news orgs can report accurately on what Petraeus actually says, rather than what the White House says he's saying. Also, as Kevin Drum says, to aggressively compare what Petraeus says to actual statistical reality.
Recall that The Washington Post reported recently that Petraeus was able to soften the conclusions of that recent National Intelligence Estimate expressing deep pessimism about Iraq. So let's hope that the big news orgs don't accord the Gospel According to Petraeus too much reverence.
Optimistic?
To reach the homepage of this blog, where you can see many more posts, click here.
To reach me, please email me at greg@talkingpointsmemo.com.