What Petraeus Wants

Friends,

We once again journey to sunny Iraq. This time from The Washington Post.

I still have huge problems with "the health of the force" (military) being doctored by a deserter. This wannbee soldier, who when he was called to serve did not, is now the "decider" on our soldiers health? Sorry kids.

Peace and Love,

Rev O

"Others see Bush's reliance on Petraeus as part of a larger pattern. "It is part of Bush's overall management style -- to cede responsibility to a lower level and not look carefully at critical issues himself," said Kenneth Adelman, a Reagan-era official who has parted company with such longtime friends as Rumsfeld and Vice President Cheney over the war. "Originally on Iraq, it was whatever Rumsfeld wanted. Then it was whatever Jerry Bremer did," he said, referring to the former Coalition Provisional Authority chief. "And now it is whatever Petraeus wants.""

"It is a strange command relationship," observed Stephen D. Biddle, a military expert at the Council on Foreign Relations who has advised Petraeus in Iraq. While it has worked well in some ways, he said, "it creates the potential for a fair amount of mischief."

"The president has privately expressed impatience with military concerns over the health of the force, telling the Joint Chiefs that if they are worried about breaking the Army, the worst thing would be to lose in Iraq."

President Listens to His Man in Iraq Washington Post
Bush hitches his fortunes to those of his bookish four-star general, bypassing several levels of the military chain of command to give Gen. David H. Petraeus a privileged voice in White House deliberations over Iraq, officials say. In so doing, Bush's working relationship with his field commander has taken on an intensity that is rare in the history of American wartime presidents. (By Dusan Vranic -- Associated Press)