Letter: Just how can we trust this leadership?

Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2007 | 7:19 a.m.

The recent controversy over the Gen. David Petraeus or General Betray Us advertisement from MoveOn.org brought several questions to mind. I think the play on the general's name was pretty corny, but there are plenty of reasons to question what the general said. You only have to look to Petraeus' predecessor, Gen. John Abizaid, for the reasons.

No one seems to recall that Abizaid testified on Nov. 15 before the Senate Armed Services Committee. In that testimony Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., asked Abizaid whether he needed more troops. He replied as follows in these prophetic words:

"Sen . McCain, I met with every divisional commander, Gen . Casey, the corps commander, Gen . Dempsey, we all talked together. And I said, in your professional opinion, if we were to bring in more American troops now, does it add considerably to our ability to achieve success in Iraq? And they all said no. And the reason is because we want the Iraqis to do more. It is easy for the Iraqis to rely upon us to do this work. I believe that more American forces prevent the Iraqis from doing more, from taking more responsibility for their own future."

Barely six weeks later, as the White House floated the idea of a troop surge, both Abizaid and Casey came forward heartily in favor of the surge.

My point is that everything a general says is not credible and neither is everything the White House says. If some of us are feeling betrayed by people we rely on, we have only to look at experience to see why we feel that way. One wonders whom you can really believe or whether you can believe anyone. Just because someone stands behind a podium with the presidential seal on it or behind a chest full of medals doesn't give him a corner on the truth.

Jim Weber, Mesquite