‘Et tu, Petraeus?’ The army conspiracy against Obama (updated twice)

‘CENTCOM commander Gen. David Petraeus, supported by Defence Secretary Robert Gates, tried to convince President Barack Obama that he had to back down from his campaign pledge to withdraw all U.S. combat troops from Iraq within 16 months at an Oval Office meeting Jan. 21….A network of senior military officers is also reported to be preparing to support Petraeus and Odierno by mobilising public opinion against Obama’s decision… some of the retired four-star generals in that network have begun discussing a campaign to blame Obama’s troop withdrawal from Iraq for the ultimate collapse of the political “stability” that they expect to follow U.S. withdrawal, according to a military source familiar with the network’s plans.The source says the network, which includes senior active duty officers in the Pentagon, will begin making the argument to journalists covering the Pentagon that Obama’s withdrawal policy risks an eventual collapse in Iraq. That would raise the political cost to Obama of sticking to his withdrawal policy’ – Gareth Porter, article on IPS News, 2 February 2009 (includes video footage).
Update, 9 February: Petraeus Leaked Misleading Story On Pullout Plans.
Update, 27 February – is Obama giving in now? ‘…Obama has given military commanders a free hand to determine the size and composition of a residual force in Iraq up to 50,000 troops, apparently including the option of leaving one or more combat brigades or bringing them from the United States, after the August 2010 deadline for the ostensible withdrawal of all combat brigades now in Iraq… The fact that the commanders have the option to nullify Obama’s pledge to removal all combat brigades raises serious questions about whether he has given up control over his Iraq policy’ – Gareth Porter, IPS, ‘Drawdown Plan May Leave Combat Brigades in Iraq’.

barry
Barry Kavanagh writes fiction, and has made music, formerly with Dacianos.

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8 comments

  1. And the vainglorious military leaders aren’t? They are not supposed to be insubordinate to the commander-in-chief. Generals should obey orders and not get involved in politics. The Pentagon spends a lot of time putting stories out into the media. And why do they do this? To prolong a war that the President has promised to end! Which would you prefer:
    (a) an army that does what the elected civilian government tells it to do
    or
    (b) a military dictatorship

  2. obma is going to get us all killed, he is wrong on tax increases, and wrong on the war. let the generals finish it so our enemies will never try a 9/11 again

  3. I think the military should listen and act on the the commander in chief decisions on withdrawal. The choice of action should be weighed upon the experience of combat officers. However, the final decision should be The President’s.

  4. I think the military should listen and act on the the commander in chief decisions on withdrawal. The choice of action should be weighed upon the experience of combat officers. However, the final decision should be The President’s.

  5. Let the generals finish WHAT? What enemies, exactly? Iraq has nothing to do with 9/11, or haven’t you been paying attention for the last seven years? If American troops left tomorrow, it will make NO DIFFERENCE WHATSOEVER to America, the American people, or its enemies who were never there in the first place. What happened in Vietnam after the American troops left? I’d be surprised if you could find two American citizens who could tell you, or who even care. Why should Obama prolong Bush’s ego-war? Why should he indulge the vanity of spoon-brained thugs like Odierno and Petraeus? But chances are he’ll give in to them and you’ll get the military dictatorship and the Roman-style empire your slave-like heart yearns and hungers for.

  6. I was born a American citizen and have rights in America. To anyone that was not, they have no rights unless they are evil.

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