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Tuesday, April 8, 2008

General Petraeus on The Hill

General David Petraeus is on Capitol Hill for the next few days answering questions about operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. According to the Washington Post "The top U.S. military commander in Iraq told a Senate committee today that improved security in Iraq is "fragile and reversible" and recommended a pause in the withdrawal of U.S. forces after mid-July."

Second District Rep. Nancy Boyda expressed concern this morning about the impact of the ongoing military commitment in Iraq on military efforts in Afghanistan.

At the same time, she made it clear she wants to hear what Gen. David Petraeus tells Congress about the Iraqi situation this week, describing herself as ''all ears'' in that regard.

Says the Manhattan Mercury about a Chamber of Commerce breakfast where Rep. Boyda spoke on Monday.

Rep. Boyda has long been respectful of our soldiers, particularly those currently in combat overseas. But has approached our situation in Afghanistan and Iraq with cautious realism particularly with regard to the military readiness. ''How long will the increased stability stay in place...we don't know,'' she said.

Boyda said one imperative was to reduce deployment lengths from 15 to 12 months, and a second was to shore up the situation in Afghanistan. ''We are close to a strategic failure in Afghanistan,'' she said. ''It begs the question of when did Iraq become our first priority?''
"In addition to the military situation, she touched upon the prospects of Manhattan being selected as the site for the National Bio and Agro-Defense Laboratory (NBAF), as well as health care and budgetary issues" The Mercury Reports. Boyda said further that Manhattan is one of five in the running but that "we have a very good shot."

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

What? No Caption contest on this photo op?

Anonymous said...

It's nice boyda has her position on the war...because it's so much more reasonable than most democrats...she's not against the war because she's against the troops, she's against it because she's opposed to the damage it's done to our national readiness.

Anonymous said...

i think, really, the surge hasn't bee n the success the republicans are forcing us all to believe..they've forced the message to be pro-surge or anti-american...

i think our recent success in Iraq has lots more to do with Sadr and his militants not shooting at us than it does lots more guns on the ground. if they'd still been shooting, we would have had three times as many deaths post surge. thankfully, Sadr called a ceasefire

Anonymous said...

"i think our recent success in Iraq has lots more to do with Sadr and his militants not shooting at us than it does lots more guns on the ground. if they'd still been shooting, we would have had three times as many deaths post surge. thankfully, Sadr called a ceasefire"
__________________________________________
Yeah ... once again posts here from those who discount any success by our troops ..... that is real supportive.

People like you are the ones who give no credit to KU winning the National Championship either ..... They didn't win it, Memphis stopped making shots.

If you support the troops give them some credit for the work that they have done in Iraq.

Anonymous said...

Boyda to the General "Pull my finger" Gray haired guy is saying "Don't do it, it might be a WMD"

Anonymous said...

Our military does an amazing job...but it's silly to just say "they won!" without taking anything into account when you say that.

If no one is shooting at you it's pretty easy to see a decrease in violence.

it's really offensive for the republicans like you to try to make it something like an either-or...our men and women do an amazing job, but circumstances outside of their control or influence made a huge difference.

Anonymous said...

It's even more offensive for people without any kind of military experience or training to think they know the best military strategies.

It's like the person who reads the sports page but has never played nor coached football, yet they believe they could get the Kansas City Chiefs into the Super Bowl next year if they were coaching.

Anonymous said...

i can read as well as you can, friend, and when i hear members of the military telling me what's going on, i listen. I listen to all of them, not just the ones saying what i want to hear...David Petraeus isn't the only one who knows what's going on.

Matt Neffer said...

I still remember when Nancy Boyda walked out on the General Petraeus breifing in July of 2007.

As a recently retired member of the Kansas National Guard I find her new found support of the military laughable.

This blog is not affiliated in any way with the Kansas Democratic Party, the Democratic National Committee, Congresswoman Nancy Boyda, the Office of Congresswoman Nancy Boyda, or the campaign to re-elected Congresswoman Nancy Boyda. All commentary herein not directly attributed must be considered the opinion of the authors of this blog and not of any other individual, including Congresswoman Nancy Boyda.