Ten Questions for General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker

Ambassador Marc Ginzburg
The Huffington Post

When Gen. Petreaus and Amb. Crocker appear before both houses of Congress tomorrow and Thursday, Democrats should ideally position themselves through these hearings to achieve the following overarching goals:

-- Debunk the fiction that the military surge has achieved sustainable military or political objectives.

-- Undermine Sen. McCain's argument that staying the course is a patriotic duty.

-- Demonstrate to the American people that the recent Iraqi government defeat at the hands of the Mahdi Army was indeed the "defining moment" that Bush claimed it was.

-- Offer a credible Democratic approach to stay the course that logically will achieve more in the long run for American security in the Middle East than what more of the same can possibly achieve.

With this in mind, and if I were staffing the hearings, here is the list of questions I would be proposing to our Democratic inquisitors:

1. Prime Minister Maliki launched an offensive to defeat the Mahdi Army in Basra. He was forced, despite U.S. logistical and air support, to sue for a ceasefire. President Bush declared during the fighting that this was a "defining moment" for Iraq. Why shouldn't the American people view this "defining moment" as exactly what it was: a defeat for us, the Iraqi government and a victory for radical Shiite militias?

(Continued here.)