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General Petraeus Grades Himself

by Bob Betzen

480px_David_H._Petraeus_1.jpg
I would have done much better in college if I had been able to grade myself. In fact I would have aced every test and graduated Magna Cum Laude. I may not have learned much though. If I had been able to grade myself, I would have spent even more time at the bars and even less time in the library.

It makes no sense to allow someone to grade their own performance. That’s why the breathlessly hyped testimony of General Petraeus before Congress was such a farce. General Petreaus has been tasked with making the military “surge” in Iraq work. What is he supposed to say: I’m doing a lousy job and need to be fired?

An independent evaluation of US progress in Iraq is of much greater value. Based on the recent GAO report to Congress, we’re not faring very well. But as usual, the mass media outlets aren’t looking for an impartial assessment of the situation. They’re looking for drama. They figured they would get more fireworks from the General’s testimony than they would from some unknown accountant citing verifiable facts and figures.

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Posted in Iraq on September 21st, 2007

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About Radical Avenue

If you want to find criticism of our government here in America, you won’t need to look far. When it comes to politics, it seems that everyone has a grievance. Radical Avenue on the other hand, takes a solutions oriented approach to public policy. It’s radical because I’m proposing fundamental changes to the structure of our government, like transferring commander in chief responsibilities to a small elected group. My philosophy is: Everyone knows we’ve got problems, so what are we going to do about it?

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