The Conditions Of Petraeus' Iraq Report

Schieffer: We've Been Waiting For The General's Take On The War, But Now The White House Is Hedging

(CBS)  Weekly commentary by CBS Evening News chief Washington correspondent and Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer.

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Sixteen years on Face The Nation has taught me one thing: When I ask a question and guests start laying out conditions such as "first let me tell you," or "the real questions is," or "it is important to put that in context," I know we're headed down the old rabbit trail that will take us anywhere but to a straight answer.

When people want to answer, they do so quickly, directly and clearly. When they don't we get all those conditions and lectures about the importance of context.

So excuse me for getting a little suspicious after hearing the White House is proposing some new conditions on the delivery of General Petraeus' long-awaited report on progress in Iraq – conditions such as the White House wanting the general to deliver the report to Congress behind closed doors while cabinet officers do the talking in public.

And, suddenly we're told the general won't actually write the report but that his thoughts will be incorporated in a summary prepared by the White House.

Mind you, this is the report the president has said over and over that he will use to decide where we go from here in Iraq.

Over and over, we've been told not to rush to judgment until we hear from the general.

Now we're hearing all these new conditions.

Maybe it's because I've been dragged down the old rabbit trail too many times by too many people with something to hide, but this doesn't sound like we're headed to a straight answer.

No, this sounds like anything but. And that is a real shame.

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[johnshaft4]

Why are we paying taxes to this wholly incompentent ''government''?

[hsinco-2009]

I don''t believe anything out of this Administration. No matter where it comes from. USDA, FDA, EPA, DOJ, DOC, HSA, CIA, FBI, FAA, NASA, FEMA, and any not mentioned, I don''t believe any of them.

I recommend everyone else be wary as well. Whether it comes from Petraeus or from a White House hack, doesn''t matter.

[perception5]

don''''t believe anything out of this Administration. No matter where it comes from. USDA, FDA, EPA, DOJ, DOC, HSA, CIA, FBI, FAA, NASA, FEMA, and any not mentioned, I don''''t believe any of them.
Posted by HSinCO at 12:11 PM : Aug 19, 2007

...Americans don''t believe anything out of this CORRUPT LIBERAL MSM WOLFPACK PRESS. No matter where it comes from:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
CBS (CORRUPT BROADCASTING STATION)
NBC (NOTHING BUT CLINTON)
ABC (ALL BOUT CLINTON)
CNN (CLINTON NEWS NETWORK
MSNBC(HOME OF KEITH ADOLF OLBERMANN)
NEW YORK TIMES (EVERY LIBERL LIE THAT''S FIT TO PRINT)
WASHINGTON POST
TIME MAGAGINE
NEWSWEEK (PRINTED FALSE STORY OF US SOLDIERS FLUSHING KORAN DOWN TIOLET AT GITMO)
LIBERAL HATE GROUPS LIKE:
MOVEON.ORG
DAILYKOS
MOB-RUN UNIONS
VAMPIRE TRIAL LAWYERS

...........as a few examples

[cbsreader4]

Laura Bush should be ashamed of herself as should our former President Bush and his wife. These are the individuals that I hold responsible for not taking direct and definitive action to stop our dictator from ruining this country.

Shame, shame on them.

[jn122736]

This administration is built on secrecy, cover-up, deceit, and outright lies. Any break in that structure will not only cause it to collapse but actually implode.

While that might be hazardous to the country it might also be its salvation.

If the country could somehow get clear and honest answers to the multitude of questions surrounding this administration, including 911, we might stop calling for impeachment

[perception5]

More corrupt and from another corrupt political/news organization.....the BBC. Look what their up to. We feel sorry for the contaminated Americans that believe every word that comes from the corrupt liberal wolfpack press. But "propaganda" works. Look at Germany in the late 1930''s........now look at what is happening in 2007............the same.


"BBC forced to removed ''***'' slur about Jesus from its website
By JASON LEWIS - More by this author ;

Last updated at 22:17pm on 18th August 2007

Comments (6)

The BBC has been forced to remove statements from its website referring to Jesus as a ''***''.

It is the latest in a string of offensive comments that BBC editors have allowed members of the public to post.

The remarks have been allowed to remain for weeks, despite complaints from religious groups. "

Would anyone expect these corrupt individuals and administration to do otherwise? Shame on
us for not impeaching and for putting up with this buxl shxt for these past 6 years!

[samthetvcat]

"And, suddenly we''re told the general won''t actually write the report but that his thoughts will be incorporated in a summary prepared by the White House."

Man, that''s too much . . . the word ''dictator'' doesn''t even seem sufficient to describe Bush/Cheney any more . . . outrageous!

[johnshaft4]

George Bush is the best reason for totally unrestricted abortion.

[jncc1701]

Are you all registered to vote? And do you all plan to do so.

And all the "lets impeach" crowd or "get out of Iraq" - loose the mantra. Democrats have NOTHING to gain by this and it is very short sighted.

If Democrats in congress do not deliver something resembling leadership then Rove will be right - we will be looking at a GOP Prez.

[cbs_oliver]

What a wonderfully straight forward analysis and evaluation!

Thanks, Bob.

[jowand]

JohnShaft4 Abortion and Bush
Liar lair pants on fire, pure hate speech

[jowand]

Fact no Lib Fiction
A Democratic controlled Congress authorized Bush to make the report from Petraus back to Congress in September the format is the President''s choosing. Bush has said Petraus will give public testimony, Leakey Leighey of Vermont would make it all public anyway.
Schieffer, Rather, Jennings, Brokaw, Russert, Stephanopolis....etc, the Democratic Party news section are what has made AM talk radio so succesfull. Schieffer is just a Democratic HACK

[jowand]

It reminds me of what we were told about Vietnam at Chistmas 1967, and most of us know how great that turned out.
Posted by koko98 at 01:29 PM : Aug 19, 2007

Don''t forget that was Lyndon Johnson. Don''t forget Clinton and Chirac got 800,000 Ruwandans killed, at the same time Chirac was still selling weapons to one of the factions in Ruwanda. Clinton bombed Yugoslavia without the UN''s permission and an Aspirin factory in the Sudan. Didn''t do anything about Bin Laden even they he was offered Bin Laden three times. Didn''t do anything about repeated attacks on Americans overseas by Al Quaeda Wouldn''t let the CIA knock him off when the had him in their sights.

[zorlacskates]

blah, blah, blah, it''s all clinton''s fault. 7 years out of office, and it''s still all about clinton. lame.

[itchyb-2009]

The Clinton administration provided enough warning to the incoming administration for someone, somewhere to have taken a look. Unfortunately, I doubt if a. they did b. it would have mattered. I can only posit that the secret Cheney/Oil company discussions in all likelihood discussed the need for more oil for our profiteers, and where to get it...hmmm. Iraq sounds like a good idea. Cheney ran with it, and we got the categoric lies that gave Bush the unilatteral decision to take out Saddam. Do we forget the Gulf of Tonkin incident and resolution. Guess what. As many of us who were against that dangerous and misguided war (and it WAS a democrat, dearest neocons). So McNammara finally proved out what many uspected all along, it was a bogus lie formulated to give the US an excuse to go into Vietnam. Didn''t learn from the French, didn''t matter. So 30 or 40 years down the road the truth will be unsealed, and lo and behold, too late to save our troops and the innocent civilians of Iraq, that it was another example of our war profiteers cooking the books. Too late to impeach, but plenty of time to beat the repubs like a rented mule in the 2008 elections. This whold debacle sickens me.

[mcvet]

A Democratic controlled Congress authorized Bush to make the report from Petraus back to Congress in September the format is the President''''s choosing. Bush has said Petraus will give public testimony, Leakey Leighey of Vermont would make it all public anyway.
Schieffer, Rather, Jennings, Brokaw, Russert, Stephanopolis....etc, the Democratic Party news section are what has made AM talk radio so succesfull. Schieffer is just a Democratic HACK
Posted by jowand at 03:59 PM : Aug 19, 2007

Man you have GOT to take off a couple of those Swastika''s. This One Party Rule, Dictatorship, Fantasy you have got going on isn''t healthy... besides it makes you look completely STUPID. Schieffer is just a Democratic Hack? What planet are you on there Sparky? ROFLMAO Isn''t it time to take off the foil and join the rest of us here in a reality check. The Words of Your Fuhrer speak for themselves, Schieffer only repeats the lies told. Now why would you stand for a President who LIES like Bush does. Sieg Heil Bush!!

[stl-mo-usa]

Sounds like we are going to KEEP waiting for the Generals report directly to the people. We are just going to get some more of Bush''s B.S. Bottom line, it will be turned into whatever kind of *** the politicans want to dish out to the American people again.

I hope the American people have the "courage" to "clean house" & elect the man that will bring America & its government back to the people this next election . He''s our only hope for real change at this point.

[imnho]

The fact that they feel that they have to edit the generals report smacks of some serious spin. It seems that the politcal settlement that the surge was supose to produce is not happenning. There seems to be no way to get from here to there.

Bush is out of touch and the surge is nearly out of time.

Its time to get the hell on out of dodge!

[nativewoman]

Sounds to me like Bob Schieffer finally remembered that it is the job of the serious journalist to dig deeper and find out the truth of the matter and to ask the hard questions.

Perhaps if our journalists had been doing their job the last few years instead of fawning over every word uttered by this administration we would not be in this mess.

Well perhaps this "better late than never" stance provides hope for the future.

[goldesprit]

Bob Schieffer is absolutely correct, of course.

General David Petraeus needs to really stand out in History (capital H) and demand publiclly to voice the opinions that he agreed with his Commander in Chief -- and OUR President, they together owed (and still owe) to the American people--and the world.

Let the General make or fail to make his point--after all, he is supposed to be a top notch world class strategy expert, so he should at least be able to top our semi-illetrate President in the live speach catagory.

Can''t he speak without being a sock puppet for George??? HOW ABOUT IT "GENERAL"???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ? ? ?

[catt42701]

Just what does anyone expect. Bush and buds have been anything but open about what they do and when they do it. The General has something to say that Bush and buds don''t want the public to hear so we won''t hear it. Nothing new. The most backwards, secritive, criminal administration in history I think and I''ve read a lot about the various presidents, good and bad. This one isn''s worth jack s**t.

[formrusmcsgt]

"And, suddenly we''re told the general won''t actually write the report but that his thoughts will be incorporated in a summary prepared by the White House."

The lies never stop with the people.

Maybe because they just can''t tell the truth.

[jimfinster]

Biased reporting at it''''s finest. Bob is a front man "hack" for the DNC and completely BDS infected.
Posted by riteaidbob at 06:52 PM : Aug 19, 2007

Instead of attacking Mr. Schieffer, explain what is wrong with his facts. Seems to me he is dead on the money.

[formrusmcsgt]

Last I heard it was the DEMOCRATS that wanted this report given behind closed doors...NOT the white house.
Posted by riteaidbob at 06:56 PM : Aug 19, 2007

RRRiiiggghhhtttt. And the Dems wanted the White House to write the report as well as opposed to hearing directly from Petreaus.

PUHLEASE!

[rushlimpdrug]

riteaidbob
Don''''t forget that was Lyndon Johnson. Don''''t forget Clinton and Chirac got 800,000 Ruwandans killed, at the same time Chirac was still selling weapons to one of the factions in Ruwanda. Clinton bombed Yugoslavia without the UN''''s permission

Ok idiots you got that off your chest (or perhaps breasts) now after SEVEN years of bush start making excuses for him. People like yourselves are pathetic.
Banging a drum yelling "CLINTON" shows your lack of brains.
Truly bob has been part of the journalistic problem - they don''t have enough fortitude to dig for an answer to the questions that need answering.

[formrusmcsgt]

Truly bob has been part of the journalistic problem - they don''''t have enough fortitude to dig for an answer to the questions that need answering.

Posted by rushlimpdrug at 07:51 PM : Aug 19, 2007

And Bill O''Reilly and Geraldo Rivera do, I suppose?

PUHLEASE!

[goldesprit]

General David Petraeus needs to really stand out in History (capital H) and demand publiclly to voice the opinions that he agreed with his Commander in Chief -- and OUR President, they together owed (and still owe) to the American people--and the world.

Let the General make or fail to make his point--and lets watch to see if he is blinking in code like a POW --Because Bush certainly does not want him to speak freely (or Frankly...).

[rushlimpdrug]

Posted by rushlimpdrug at 07:51 PM : Aug 19, 2007
And Bill O''''Reilly and Geraldo Rivera do, I suppose?
PUHLEASE!
Posted by formrusmcsgt

At this point, I don''t know anyone that does.

[formrusmcsgt]

Posted by rushlimpdrug at 07:51 PM : Aug 19, 2007
And Bill O''''''''Reilly and Geraldo Rivera do, I suppose?
PUHLEASE!
Posted by formrusmcsgt

At this point, I don''''t know anyone that does.

Posted by rushlimpdrug at 08:53 PM : Aug 19, 2007

From my perspective, the very least likely would be Rupert Murdoch''s employees.

If you really want solid reporting, why do you take Schieffer to task for condemning the White House''s "spinning" of his report?

[cfin5]

Mr. Schieffer''s article makes a fair and accurate point. There has been a few too many quiet "back room" activities going on for my taste. I hope the article is wrong, but I doubt it. All I can say is I don''t really know who to trust in government anymore. I will say this though, I''m learning to watch deeds far more than I listen to words......Good article Bob!

[burneb]

So the White House won''t even bother to wire Petraeus up to say what he knows or suspects is B.S. -- just like they did to Colin Powell at the UN. They''re just going to write what they want and say it''s based on Petraeus''s report (which will of course be too sensitive for us mere taxpayer/citizen mortals to hear directly).

This is an administration that has to cheat even when the game is already rigged.

[tbweb]

Bob Schieffer tried to retire a while back but he was asked to stay on and accepted. There is a certain power in that, Bob can speak the truth with vigor, say what he thinks and could care less who has a problem with it and he''s been doing just that! I hope I''m that sharp when I reach Bob''s age, no one can argue that Bob is not on his "A" Game! Go Bob! No more rabbit trails for him!

[www.dmocrats.org]

For the cost of a telegram send your congressman, Senator or Mr. Bush a real message to get out of Iraq now. If they receive one of these they won''t soon forget your message. It costs as much as a telegram to send this message and unlike a telegram they will not soon throw it out..

http://www.artscafe.com/maximus7/ReviewProduct.aspx?StoreProductId=12053558

Copy and paste the letter below and email it directly to [e-mail] the Republican Party and get 2 friends to send this letter and have those 2 friends get 2 friends to send it and so on. Thank you. Drop me a message to [e-mail] with the subject Done after you have sent the email.

Hello

Get your Republican party to end the war in Iraq, with Bush and Cheney resigning, and until you do we stop buying televisions, refrigerators, stoves, ovens, dishwashers, dvd players, stereo equipment, light bulbs from one of your party''s major contributors and War contractors General Electric Corporation ( 203 373 2211 ) who cannot afford to lose a large sector of the publics business and money.

[iceman_1960]

Bush''s unpopularity with the American people is really impressive.

Rasmussen, the Conservatives'' favorite pollster, reports (Sunday, August 19, 2007) that 60% of Americans disapprove of Bush. That includes 40% who "Strongly Disapprove."

"Strongly Disapprove" is the "hate his guts" category. The one it is d*amned near impossible to turn around. (Unless Dubya discovers the cure for cancer in his spare time.)

40% of the people hate his guts. I believe that is unprecedented in American history, except maybe for Nixon.

Nothing Petraeus and Crocker have to say next month, will help that.

But to quote the even more unpopular D*ick Cheney, "Help is on the way" -- in November 2008.

Source:

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/political_updates/president_bush_job_approval

[rushlimpdrug]

Bob Schieffer tried to retire a while back but he was asked to stay on and accepted. There is a certain power in that, Bob can speak the truth with vigor, say what he thinks and could care less who has a problem with it . . . Bob is not on his "A" Game! Go Bob! No more rabbit trails for him!
Posted by tbweb

This is why I take bob to task. I don''t mean to be absolutely critical of him only in that he like so many have held back in being journalistically responsible that the country has suffered for it.
If he is no longer holding back then I applaud his effort.
Also if this is the case hopefully others will realize they also will leave a journalistic legacy.

[iceman_1960]

"Bush''s unpopularity with the American people is really impressive."

Somebody is bound to come back with "Oh, but look how unpopular the Democratic Congress is !!"

(Like prison inmates laughing at the unpopularity of bleeding heart liberal judges.)

Yeah, they''re unpopular because they haven''t impeached the sonofab*itch.

That''s why they''re unpopular.

Let them impeach Bush/Cheney, and the public would be clamoring to have Nancy Pelosi''s bust added to Mount Rushmore.

[citizenusa-2009]

Nixon was run out of office for LESS than what this "pretender" has pulled. I don''t understand how he and Chaney continue to hold court???

Petraeus is just another puppet being made to dance by this corrupt and dishonest Bush Administration.

This just indicates that the Bush Administration is preparing to tell us all another round of lies.

They lied about WMD''s, they lied to go to war, they lied about the deaths of our brave soldiers, they''ve lied about us not torturing people and they will continue to lie to us.

These lying sacks of shi_t need to be held accountable.

[bluestardad]

PETRAEUS IS THE SAME GENERAL THAT LOST 190 THOUSAND WEAPONS IN IRAQ!

HE IS JUST ANOTHER BUSHIT PLACE HOLDER TO CONFUSE THE ISSUES AND PROVIDE REPUBLICANS COVER TO STAY THE COURSE.

VOTE REPUBLICAN IF YOU LIKE YOUR KOOL-AID!

[brianbwb-2009]

Bush''s "promise" to congress was that the report would be delivered by Petraeus in open hearings.

If, maybe I should say when he is shown to have again lied, congress then has no choice but to rescind the war powers granted to Bush, pull the funding, and call the troops home.

Failure to do so is complicity in treason.

[scratch057]

After 57 years on this planet and most of my adult life as a conservative, I''m now feeling my way toward radical ideas. Ideas like ''accountability'' and ''responsibility''. I''m afraid this administration has fallen short (way short) of both. I would like to see and hear General Petraeus deliver his report to an open session of Congress, unfiltered by the White House. Then I would like to see the ''checks and balances'' kick in and bring pressure to bear, focusing this country away from an international rescue party and toward taking care of our own. This administration is like a spoiled kid who doesn''t want his parents to see his bad report card.

Lets drag out the dirty laundry of this ugly war and air it out.

Wouldn''t you like to see every U.S. citizen well-nourished, gainfully employed and comfortably sheltered? Wouldn''t you like to keep your conversations private, send and receive email without fear of eavesdropping? Wouldn''t you like to see our soldiers at home?
Unless we stop partisan bickering and deal with it we may not see it in our lifetime. Its your duty to put pressure on your representatives, no matter which side of the aisle they''re on. Its your duty to clean house.

[bluestardad]

BUSHYS NEW PET GENERAL PETRASSS DID NOT TELL YOU THAT 40 PERCENT OF THE IRAQI TROOPS FOR THE SURGE NEVER SHOWED UP.

THEN SOME THAT DID SHOT AMERICAN TROOPS!

[adian1-2009]

After such a catalogue of lies coming out of the present administration, I ask myself how come that such a journalist and analyst like Mr. Schieffer has ever expected an honest report about the state of affairs in Iraq. Mr. Schieffer, did you not notice yesterday, while you were interviewing Rove, how proud he is of having politicized the whole federal government? Could you ever expect the truth from Bush or Cheney or Rove or from any of their puppets unless it was a convenient truth for their partisan interests? Come on. I do not have your brains, Mr. Schieffer, but I never expected the truth from this administration.

[goldesprit]

Can Bob Schiffer really expect the truth from Bush and General?

DUH. Absolutely positivly we will expect the truth one way or another --this is just the start of the extraction.

And you don''t have to like it.
It is not just for your entertainment...dig?????

[drummer94]

"These lying sacks of shi_t need to be held accountable" posted by mcdazz at 02:46 AM. Oh they will be, dazz. I just hope the general has the coconuts to realize he is responsible to us and not the loony-toon in da house. I used to think that history would be George''s judge, but we can no longer wait for history, tomorrow if you will, to judge. We know this endeavor was/is a HUGE mistake and we need to act. 2008 will put our boat on the proper course, but can we afford to wait till then? I think not.

[walt1944-2009]

Why doesn''t this surprise me? It''s hard enough to get a straight answer out of any politician, but to hear the truth from the Bush White House is like expecting a neocon to admit there is global warming while the flood waters are rising all around him.

Everyone knows that the "official" report is going to be a pile of BS, mostly because the White House, maybe even Bush himself, is going to write the thing (check that spelling and grammar someone!) and pass it off as what the military is saying. You want the real story, talk to a vet from Iraq who is "between tours" and has his/her uniform off, and you get the real story.

The bottom line to all this is going to be what it has been for the past 4 years: STAY THE COURSE (and see if I give a ***)!

SIG HEIL, BUSH!!!

[actornaught]

The filtered progress report is just more of the gross manipulations of this white house.

Can someone please tell me if and where there''s an objective accounting of where the money came from that got us this president?

Except for being the son of a former president, he was a nobody on the national stage until there were reports of how much campaign money was accumulating for him. There never was talk about how he was a good leader in any venue he participated, just money, and we''ve all found out why.

[tomar0317]

Unfortunately this comes as no surprise. We the people have been lied to, told mistruths, and been the victims of a very poor political agenda that starts right at the top. As long as the elected folks can rest assured they stay in office, or retire with benefits only they get because thats the way they approved the package,they will continue to abuse us. It has been said by many before me that we need to hold all our leaders accountable. We need remove those that care not for us unless it''s election time. The election is coming... it''s up to us!

[one_american]

Bob, when opinion-pushing talking heads like you start thrusting your take on the public ahead of any report from the White House, it only means one thing; YOU''RE SPINNING THE NEWS, TRYING TO NEGATIVELY INFLUENCE THE PUBLIC.

Knock it off, crusty old man.

Just give us straight reporting of the facts.

Stop coloring the answers, especially BEFORE they are given.

What you are currently doing is a DISSERVICE to the public.