Sen. McCaskill opens her time by also saying the resolutions opposing the surge are patriotic, yet another dismissal of Sen. Lieberman.
She asks General Petraeus about stories she has read that Iraqis troops are just not up to the job. she goes through his own list about successful counter-insurgency tactics.
She emphasizes the last one: "Ultimate success depends on local leaders."
Petraeus says if he senses that "they don't want it as much as we do" at some point, he will tell his boss and the Congress.
Carl Levin takes over and points out that two years ago Cheney said we were in the last throes, that Bush now admits we're not winnning, but that he did't realize that until the elections in November.
Says at least Bush admits now that it isn't an open-ended committment, but asks, how do we get the Iraqis to take over? Do you increase American presence, or do we increase pressure on them?
Dismisses Lieberman again by saying the U.S. soldiers he knows "welcome an honest debate."
Petraeus states that he does not support or oppose any Senate resolutions, and agrees that the political control by Iraqis is the ultimate goal.
Asks about providing Al Maliki complaining about the U.S. not providing Iraqis with weapons. Petraeus says he will look into it, but says they've given quite a bit.
Gen. Petraeus discussing formation of insurgency and de-Baathification. Says "it was a real challenge" that "obviously caused signigicant challenge for us."
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