http://electioncentral.tpmcafe.com/blog/electioncentral/2007/jun/18/edwards_blasts_gasp_general_petraeusEdwards -- Gasp! -- Blasts General Petraeus
By Greg Sargent | bio
Okay, this is pretty interesting.
As you all know, many leading Republicans appear to believe that our military commanders are not to be subject to any sort of criticism. Ever. Last week, when Harry Reid said that General Pace was "incompetent" and allegedly said other critical things about General Pace, Republicans -- including John McCain, Tony Snow, and many others -- hammered away at Reid mercilessly, suggesting that he was anti-military and worse.
So it'll be interesting to see what their reaction will be to what John Edwards has now done. He's just released a statement blasting Petraeus for suggesting yesterday that we may need to remain in Iraq for many years to come. Edwards:
“General Petraeus’ comments are just the latest example of the Bush Administration’s disconnect from the reality on the ground. In order to get the Iraqi people to take responsibility for their country, we must show them that we are serious about leaving, and the best way to do that is to actually start leaving. Instead of talking about keeping our troops in Iraq for another decade, the Administration should begin bringing our troops home to the hero’s welcome they deserve."Edwards appears to be suggesting here that Petraeus is out of touch with the "reality on the ground" in Iraq. Without getting into the specifics of the debate over the residual force favored by many leading Dems, it is interesting to see a Dem going after the General. It'll be similarly interesting to see if the other leading Dem Presidential candidates offer anything on Petraeus' comments. Our guess is that many leading Dems will view this one as an untouchable, so we bet we won't be hearing much on this score from them.