Get to Petraeus

In five weeks, General Petraeus will report to Congress on the status of the Iraq war. We can also presume that he will give his recommendations on future steps.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Peter Pace, describes General Petraeus as having, "First, absolute integrity ... and second, (being) smart as a whip."

OK then. We can appeal to General Petraeus' capacity to reason, and rely on his integrity to respond appropriately.

General Petraeus will agree that the US military does not establish policy, but instead conducts military actions to achieve policies set by civilians.

General Petraeus will agree that the US Congress has the Constitutional power to declare or stop the the Nation from engaging in war. James Madison said that the Constitution was written with the intent to give Congress the power to "chain the dogs of war."

Thus, because General Petraeus does not set policy, he should ask the Democratic leadership of Congress to clarify its objectives regarding Iraq before offering recommendations on military actions. Only then should he offer recommendations relative to the stated objectives of Congress.

If the objectives of Congress differ from those of the President, then we should expect Petraeus to offer alternative recommendations to the President that differ from those offered to Congress. If Congress does not initiate a process to end the war, or in some other way take clear command of the US military, it must concede to the will of the Executive Branch.

This is the only logical and honest way General Petraeus can provide recommendations. Otherwise, he risks setting policy, which would represent a subtle form of military coup.

CLICK to Contact General Petraeus:

CLICK to Contact Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Phone or FAX Senate Leader Harry Reid:

Phone: 202-224-3542
Fax: 202-224-7327

Sources:

Associated Press, ROBERT BURNS, Gen. Petraeus readies Iraq war report, August 8, 2007.