Petraeus Wins That Round With Lantos

Democrats are going to have to do better than this if they are going to rattle Petraeus. Rep. Lantos got testy with Petraeus, claiming that the general was only calling for a "token withdrawal" of U.S. forces from Iraq.

But Petraeus responded that Lantos was not actually addressing his proposal but one written about in the media during the last week, which turned out to be, like many of these leaks are, somewhat inaccurate. Petraeus is calling for a return to "pre-surge" levels by next July, meaning 20-30,000 U.S. troops could be permanently sent home.

Lantos then tried to score a point on Petraeus by pointing that recent news stories said Petraeus and Admiral William Fallon, top U.S. commander in the Middle East, disagree on the pace of potential withdrawal from Iraq. But Petraeus easily countered Lantos' question, saying there was no disagreement within the U.S. military command over that issue.

"Admiral Fallon fully supports the recommendations I have made, as does the Joint Chiefs of Staff," Petraeus said.

A point for Petraeus.