[Venkman]

Originally Posted by YOhio

Petraus has no motive to want his current position unless he sees success as a viable option. President Bush only has a year and a half left in office so Petraus must assume that his role will end with the Bush administration. If he believes that the pinnacle of his career is an 18-month stint as Commander of the Multi-National Force in Iraq, then I'll accept what your saying. But I don't think that is the case. I think he realizes that success in Iraq means his name will be lauded in history books for generations to come and his future will have no ceiling. Lying about a failed strategy will have the opposite consequence.

Think about it this way. Assume that the surge is not producing the results initially forecasted and Petraus sees this. He comes before congress and announces to the world that the surge has failed and a change in strategy is necessary. Every media outlet in the world would run editorials about the brave General Petraus. Congressional Democrats would soak in his every word and create new words to praise him. Republicans would have no grounds to dispute his findings as they have already built him up as the only hope in Iraq. He would be guaranteed a position as Joint Chiefs or SecDef in the next Dem administration, which would inevitably happen due to this announcement. He would land a well-paid, cushy spot in a liberal think-tank to bide the time. His picture would be placed in the Wikipedia entry on integrity. He would have so much more to gain by taking this course of action than by lying to protect an unpopular president. The fact that he didn't do this means that he is either a lying fool or he is speaking a very close approximation to the truth. I don't think he's a lying fool.

I think you're spot on.