I Guess He Didn't Get the Memo that Petraeus Didn't Really Mean It

Andy McCarthy
National Review Online
10 April '10

(For those who have been following this, there was an audible sigh of relief from many, when Gen. Petraeus addressed the issue recently. However, the desire to hear something more soothing, may have eclipsed actually seeing what the bottom line was. Y.)

General David Petraeus's most ardent fans continue to believe their honey rather than their lyin' ears. Yet, as I detailed in Thursday's column, leftists and Islamists have no difficulty grasping that (a) he quite clearly blamed what he portrayed as Israel's intransigence for America's woes in the Muslim world, and (b) he has not "set the record straight" in a way that comes close to retracting or debunking his statements. What's more, they are basing their interpretation on what the general actually said, not the purported "spin" on it that Petraeus — while not retracting — has ascribed to "bloggers."

The latest is Palestinian journalist and activist Daoud Kuttab [h/t Ruthfully Yours], who writes:

The taboo was finally broken and the genie is out of the bottle, despite some attempts to force it back. America's military leaders have had enough and decided to speak out about the liability that a hardline Israel causes to America's national interest. Popular American General David Petraeus finally said the words that many have been saying behind closed doors for decades. The statement of the star-studded general puts American blind support for Israel in direct opposition to the country's most sacred institution, the military.... Petraeus has made a courageous statement that could play a key role in weakening the pro-Israel lobby and allow for a much more balanced US approach to the Middle East conflict....

This glowing tribute, it is worth noting, comes two weeks after claims that Gen. Petraeus had walked back his assertion that it is principally the lack of "progress" in resolving the Israeli/Palestinian conflict that strengthens Iran, weakens "moderate" Arab regimes, and drives al Qaeda recruitment.

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