Richard Whalen

General David H. Petraeus, the U.S. Commander in Iraq, told Congress on Tuesday that Iraq is making “fragile but reversible” progress on security, but it’s too early to set dates to pull out all U.S. troops. He said the number of troops should return to “pre-surge levels this summer, but after the 20,000 troops sent during last year’s surge are withdrawn, the military should wait 45 days before deciding on more reductions. That’s grand strategy by the calendar, in the absence of an objective.

A new factor in Petraeus’ high visibility is speculation from political strategists such as Steven Clemons of the New America Foundation who thinks the [national] “psyche is looking for a new Eisenhower.” He imagines a scenario where Petraeus, after he retires in two years, would recapture the White House for the Republicans from a failed Democratic administration.

William Kristol, the editor of the neoconservative Weekly Standard and a New York Times Op-Ed columnist, believes that military officers are the subject of endless political fascination because their jobs, by definition, involve leadership. Kristol joined the boomlet for Petraeus in a Times column last month saying the General would be an excellent, if unorthodox, choice as a vice presidential running mate for Senator John McCain. Others such as George Stephanopoulos have also raised the idea on ABC’s “This Week.” Petraeus’ reply, taken from a country song by Lorrie Morgan: “So tell me what part of ‘no’ don’t you understand.”

Despite his expressed disinterest now, Petraeus has many of the instincts of a successful politician. He courts the press and plays favorites among reporters with great skill. Petraeus knows how he wants his successes reported and his failures buried, and he rewards the accommodating.

One retired general who has closely observed his career says: “He’s the most ambitious man I’ve ever met.”

It’s much too early to speculate on Petraeus’ future. Late last month, Iraqi President Nouri al-Maliki, without forewarning Petraeus (or so we are told), launched an ill-fated offensive against ethnic gangs and religious militias in the oil-rich southern city of Basra. Iraqi government troops and police wound up surrendering en masse. So much for Petraeus’ inspiring new strategy. Eleven GIs died in recently “pacified” Baghdad.

Lawrence J. Korb, a defense official under President Reagan who is now a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, calls Petraeus “the most political general since Douglas MacArthur.” But war critics have accused Petraeus of aligning himself too closely with Bush’s policies and liberal propagandist MoveOn.org suggested that he was dishonestly portraying the war’s realities in a newspaper ad – General Betray Us.

By 2010, Petraeus will have spent two years commanding NATO and polishing his bipartisan resume. In the meanwhile, he is simply a four-star Bush mouthpiece selling the end game in a lost war.