Chaos Erupts Outside Petraeus Briefing

Chaos erupted Wednesday outside a House briefing with Army Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. military commander on the ground in Iraq.

Protestors thronged the halls of the Rayburn House Office Building outside the committee room where Petraeus is briefing members of Congress. The assembled protestors, which included members of Code Pink, shouted for members to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq as the lawmakers entered the room.

Then, Rep. Duncan Hunter of California, the ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, called on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to resign as the Democratic leader after suggesting the war in Iraq “is lost.”

That prompted the protestors to shout him down, and pandemonium ensued before Capitol Police officers cleared the hallway.

Both parties have scheduled on-camera briefings following the meeting to share their impressions of what Petraeus has to say.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) scheduled a briefing for Democrats on Wednesday afternoon, a day after ABC reported that Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) would not attend the meeting.