JOHN CARTER

This week we remember the brave men and women who lost their lives in the devastating terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. We remember the courageous policemen and firemen who rose to the call of duty on that day, and we remember the families whose grief has resurfaced with the memories of their lost loved ones. The total number of United States citizens killed in that single day was 2,974, the vast majority of whom were civilians, not military. They were not attacked by a country’s army. In fact, as we all remember, the attack was just the opposite. America was “sucker punched” out of the blue by a group of radical terrorists whose goal is to bring their violent way of life to our free country.

This great tragedy united our country in its aftermath, but has left us drastically divided on its meaning. It is sad that during this week of remembrance, liberal political group MoveOn.org “sucker punched” our own military forces by launching a personal attack on General David Petraeus, a respected U.S. Army figure who has dedicated thirty years of his life to the service. On the day General Petraeus delivered his congressionally mandated report to Congress on the progress being made in Iraq, MoveOn.org placed a full page advertisement in the New York Times accusing him of treason. The ad alleged, without evidence, that Petraeus would not give an honest assessment of the situation in Iraq, but instead would be “cooking the books” giving a testimony pre-spun and pre-scripted by the White House. To push the dagger a little deeper, the title of the ad was a pun on Petraeus’s name: General Betray Us?

I wonder how a group of American people could be so vicious towards a respected and credible general. After all, this man is a four-star general, a Princeton Ph. D, a recipient of the Defense Distinguished Service Metal, and not to mention he has led our troops in the fight to protect our freedom, the very freedom that allows members of MoveOn.org the ability to speak so freely. To hear personal, intentional attacks like this on our military during the anniversary week of September, 11, raises one disturbing question. Why are we pointing the gun at our own soldiers rather than at the terrorists who killed so many innocent Americans? Because this attack on Petraeus was so public and so deliberate, it cannot be ignored by either side of the aisle. It is shameful and disrespectful, and any member of Congress, regardless of party affiliation, should denounce something so outright distasteful.

Despite the attacks, General Petraeus held his head high when he walked into the hearing room to deliver his testimony, seemingly unscathed by the ad. He delivered an honest, straight-forward assessment of the realities in Iraq. He discussed the importance of building on our current progress in Iraq and avoiding the consequences that would be sure to follow a precipitous withdrawal of support forces from the region. Not a single member of Congress wants to see our soldiers stay in Iraq one day longer than is necessary, and General Petraeus made clear his intention to suggest a modest drawdown of troop levels in response to the success that has been achieved.

After returning from my fourth trip to Iraq, I can testify that what General Petraeus reported about the significant progress is true. I have witnessed first-hand the American soldiers working with the Iraqi forces to bring their country to a more secure state. Our soldiers on the ground believe strongly in what they are fighting for and we should allow them the opportunity to succeed and return home.

General Petraeus is a man of integrity and he is doing exactly what Congress has asked him to do by delivering an honest report. His testimony reminds us that progress in Iraq has not come without a price. That’s why it remains more important than ever that Congress cast aside political calculations and work together for the security of our nation. We need to adopt a bi-partisan policy that is worthy of our troops’ continued sacrifice and consistent with their single minded determination to succeed.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 18th, 2007 at 1:10 pm and is filed under Defense, Homeland Security, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.