Army general David Petraeus passed out in a senate hearing Tuesday, briefly overshadowing mounting concern on Capitol Hill about the Afghanistan war strategy. Petraeus fainted when being grilled by the lawmakers in a Senate Armed Services Committee listening to. Before this happened, senators questioned the general about what the fitful progress of the Afghanistan surge means to the U.S. -Afghanistan timeline. Although he returned, the listening to was nevertheless postponed till Wednesday.
The Afghanistan surge is what Petraeus is being questioned about
On Tuesday in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Petraeus appeared because of an increasing uneasiness over progress in on the battlefield and corruption among the Afghan government. The Washington Post reports that pressure for results stems from the Afghanistan timeline the Obama administration set when he announced his Afghanistan strategy and also the deployment of 30,000 additional troops in December.When the Afghanistan surge is complete, by the end of August, U.S. troop strength could be about 100,000. Beginning in July 2011, troops are scheduled to begin withdrawing. Strong Taliban resistance, despite the Afghanistan surge and lagging Afghan government participation, have slowed progress, creating the image that things are not going also as anticipated by the administration’s Afghanistan strategy.
Video blocked of Petraeus fainting
Petraeus fainted when he was being questioned by Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, who expressed doubts about the timeline for Afghanistan withdrawal. Although the hearing was televised, the New York Daily News reports that a clear view of Petraeus passing out on video isn’t available any longer. As Petraeus started to slump forward, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell jumped to his feet and blocked one of the television cameras from viewing the general. He then directed another aide to block the view of a second camera.
Petraeus takes position to defend Afghanistan strategy
Before Petraeus passed out, according to CNN, he said that progress is being made with the Afghanistan surge even as the violence has gotten more intense. The surge of U.S. troops into Afghanistan is ahead of schedule, but the situation on the ground will get worse before it gets better, Petraeus said. All 30,000 additional U.S. troops Obama ordered last year will be in Afghanistan by the end of August. Troops had originally been scheduled to be in place by September. He told the congressional panel the goal of increasing the size and capability of the struggling Afghan National Army and police forces is back on track, but there is a lot more work to be done on Tuesday.
McCain decides to slam Afghanistan timeline
After Petraeus fainted and also the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was postponed until a later date, McCain told the Washington Post that the U.S.-Afghanistan timeline has the Taliban, the Afghan government and other competing interests certain that the U.S. is more interested in leaving than winning the war. Now they are going into Afghanistan. It’s true that Afghan President Hamid Karzai wants to negotiate with the Taliban and suck up to the Pakistani military. He fired anyone who had relations with the US. Karzai knows Americans are what are keeping him alive. He just wants a protector when they pull out of there.
Additional at these websites
Washington Post
washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/14/AR2010061405553.html?hpid=topnews
New York Daily News
nydailynews.com/blogs/dc/2010/06/flacking-for-war-boss-petraeus.html
CNN
cnn.com/2010/US/06/15/afghanistan.petraeus/index.html?npt=NP1
