Petraeus: No Corners Turned Or Lights At The End Of The Tunnel

By Ryan Grim

(The Politico)  Senator Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) begins his questioning by mentioning the CIA’s most recent National Intelligence Estimate, which hasn’t been released. He stresses that there is much ambiguity in Iraq, a point Petraeus concedes.

“[W]e haven’t turned any corners, we haven’t seen any lights at the end of the tunnel,” he says, referencing President Bush and former Vietnam-era General William Westmoreland’s famous phrases.

Bayh asks if reasonable people could disagree on the way forward. “I don’t know if I would go that far, senator,” says Petraeus.

Bayh presses, asking if Petraeus is calling people who disagree with him unreasonable. “Senator, lots of things in life are arguable,” he says. “I believe that the recommendations I have made are correct.”

Bayh presses further, asking that the patriotism of those with differing opinions be respected. “We fight for the right of people to have other opinions,” Petraeus says, without saying whether such opinions are reasonable.