Ack! -New CentCom Appointment Hearing --> Gen. Petraeus - Now on C-Span 3

New CentCom Appointment Today :grr: :puke: No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gen. David Petraeus, the Commander of Multi-National Forces in Iraq, appears at a Senate Armed Services hearing on his nomination as new Chief of U.S. Central Command (Centcom). Also appearing is his deputy Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, nominated as Gen. Petraeus' replacement.

http://www.c-span.org/watch/cs_cspan3_rm.asp?Cat=TV&Code=CS3

Congress Must Ask General Petraeus Tough Questions

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/05/petraeus_questions.html

May 21, 2008

The Congress must use Gen. David Petraeus’ confirmation hearing to be the head of the U.S. Central Command to ask the general tough questions about the implications of his appointment. As CENTCOM commander, Gen. Petraeus will have to balance overall U.S. national security interests in the greater Middle East while also managing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. After only a little more than year and a half as the Commanding Gen. of Multinational Forces in Iraq and as the architect of the current U.S. counterinsurgency strategy in the country, Congress must ensure that Petraeus can be objective in managing these challenges.

There are several key questions that lawmakers should ask Gen. Petraeus so that the American people can be assured that his CENTCOM appointment will serve their interests.

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1. As the architect of U.S. military strategy in Iraq, can Gen. Petraeus objectively assess the situation in Iraq and the relative priorities of the war in Iraq as opposed to the war in Afghanistan?

If history is any guide, Gen. Petraeus will have difficulty remaining impartial. A month before the 2004 election, Gen. Petraeus painted an overly optimistic picture in the Washington Post of Iraqi Security Forces’ training progress. Because he was then the head of the U.S. training mission to Iraq, Gen. Petraeus’ conflict of interest was apparent, and as history has proven, the Iraqi troops were not as capable as Gen. Petraeus made them out to be.

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2. What implications will Gen. Petraeus’ appointment have for the next president?

Should Gen. Petraeus be confirmed by the Senate, he will be appointed to a three-year term.
As a combat commander he can only be removed for cause or be transferred to another job.

This decision will effectively lock in Gen. Petraeus as the head of the Central Command
for the next president, regardless of his or her objectives in Iraq.

Since Petraeus is so readily identified with the current policy (President Bush refers to
it as “the Petraeus Strategy”), will he be willing to enthusiastically implement a new
strategy if the next president decides to change course?

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3. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen recently stated that,

“In Iraq we do what we must, in Afghanistan we do what we can.”

Does Gen. Petraeus agree with this statement?

Senior allied commanders in Afghanistan have stated that they need at least 10,000 more troops to counter the growing Taliban and Al Qaeda threat.

Despite these requests, the United States was only able to send 3,200 Marines on a temporary basis earlier this spring. When their deployment ends this fall, will Gen. Petraeus recommend replacing these troops or consider increasing their numbers given the increasingly grave security environment in Afghanistan? Will he be willing to reduce the force levels in Iraq to do this?

Admiral Mullen went on to state that the operation in Afghanistan is, “by design and necessity, an economy-of-force operation. There is no getting around that. Our main focus, militarily, in the region and in the world right now is rightly and firmly in Iraq.” Congress should press Gen. Petraeus to see if he agrees with this statement.

More....

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/05/petraeus_questions.html

4. The Government Accountability Office recently concluded that, “the United States lacks a comprehensive plan to destroy the terrorist threat and close the safe haven in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas.” Does Gen. Petraeus agree?

What are some concrete steps that Gen. Petraeus will undertake to address this shortcoming?

The GAO went on to conclude that the United States has relied principally on the Pakistani military to address U.S. national security goals. As CENTCOM commander, what will Gen. Petraeus do to ensure that the United States employs all its instruments of national power to address U.S. goals in the tribal areas and Pakistan in general?

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5. The Pentagon recently alerted seven active duty and four guard brigades for deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan. For one of these active duty brigades, this will be their fourth deployment. For four of these active duty brigades, this will be their third deployment. ( 1) For three of these guard brigades this will mean that they have been called up twice since 9-11. Does this concern Gen. Petraeus? How long does Gen. Petraeus think this can continue?

As a result of this overstretch:


* Over 1.6 million American service members have been deployed to either Iraq or Afghanistan

* Approximately one in five service members who have returned from Afghanistan and Iraq currently have post-traumatic stress disorder or depression

* Suicides among active-duty soldiers in 2007 reached their highest level since the Army began keeping such records in 1980 (121)

* The number of waivers issued to active-duty army recruits with felony convictions jumped to 511 in 2007, from 249 in 2006

* So far, in just the first six months of fiscal year 2008, the army has granted moral waivers to 13 percent of its recruits despite lowering its educational aptitude levels significantly

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6. Army Vice Chief of Staff, Gen. Richard Cody, and Marine Corps Assistant Commandant, Gen. Robert Magnus, recently testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee and painted a stark picture of Army and Marine readiness and the ability of U.S. ground forces to meet contingencies in the near future. Does this concern Gen. Petraeus?

Gen. Cody said that the Army no longer has fully ready combat brigades on standby should a threat or conflict occur.

"I've never seen our lack of strategic depth be where it is today," said Cody, who has been the senior Army official in charge of operations and readiness for the past six years.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen, echoed Cody’s concern. “Clearly, if we had to do something with our ground forces, a significant substitute would be a big challenge," he said.

The Marine Corps' ability to train for potential conflicts has been "significantly degraded," said Gen. Magnus.

Gen. Magnus went on to state that the current pace of operations is, “unsustainable.”

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7. Is our effort in Iraq making the United States safer?

According to retired Navy Vice Adm. Michael McConnell, Director of National Intelligence, Al Qaeda is gaining in strength from its state haven in Pakistan and is steadily improving its ability to recruit, train, and position operatives capable of carrying out attacks inside the United States.

As three independent reports released in March of this year concluded, the security situation in Afghanistan—the true central front in the war on terrorist networks—has deteriorated to its worst level in two years.

More....

would this be C Span Radio? Big mistake if they put this guy in, I wish they talked to Fallon first.

hey breeze54:hi:

Try this for "Listening" illegal codeplayClip(cspan3rma)

That won't work... Can you get C-Span 3 on the radio? :shrug:

The picture from C-Span is wicked dark! :argh:

:hi: Alyce!

Akaka: Q: "Our soldiers have become the center of gravity in this conflict.

Blah, blah... Asking if their unit training is adequate.


-Answer: "We have to continue the training, we have to, we must continue...

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Akaka: Q: Asking about Iraq's neighbors to come in and sponsor a compromise.

What would be the best approaches to use in talking to them? What about Iran?

It cut out... couldn't hear and can't hear the answer.

I am listening through C Span radio, thanks for mentioning that, just finished listening to Mike podcast from last nite

He knows his stuff!

He's asking about an end point in our strategic direction in Iraq!

He mentioned the lack of one by BushCo.. :applause: :applause: