Desperate for failure in Iraq

The Washington Post reported last Friday that General David Petraeus asserted that Iraqi leaders had failed to take advantage of the success of the surge in seeking political reconciliation. Only problem is that once you get beyond the first paragraph, you’ll see that Petraeus didn’t quite say what the WaPo claimed he did:

BAGHDAD, March 13 — Iraqi leaders have failed to take advantage of a reduction in violence to make adequate progress toward resolving their political differences, Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said Thursday.

Petraeus, who is preparing to testify to Congress next month on the Iraq war, said in an interview that “no one” in the U.S. and Iraqi governments “feels that there has been sufficient progress by any means in the area of national reconciliation,” or in the provision of basic public services.

Amy Proctor quotes Lt. Col Steven Boylan, a spokesman for the General, as saying Petraeus did not use the word “fail,” and that it didn’t reflect his opinion. At that same link, Amy’s got video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pouncing on the incorrectly reported quote in the Washington Post piece as ‘evidence’ that Bush’s policy in Iraq has failed. Wishful thinking on Pelosi’s part, I’m sure.

Interesting how the only time anti-war Democrats believe Gen. Petraeus is when they think he’s called the surge a ‘failure.’