The Iraq Report and Democratic Response

General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker are currently testifying before Congress. Reactions have already been offered, as most everyone knew what they were going to say in the first place.

In opening the hearings, Democratic Representative and House Armed Services Chair Ike Skelton wasted no words in describing the general observation of the state of things in Iraq:

``No one can make the case that the Iraqi government has made great strides,'' said Representative Ike Skelton, the Missouri Democrat who chairs the House Armed Services Committee, citing reports that show Iraqi leaders have failed to achieve economic and security benchmarks for unity.

``The witnesses must tell us why we should continue sending our young men and women to fight and die if the Iraqis won't make the tough sacrifices leading to reconciliation,'' Skelton said in a statement opening the hearing. ``What is the likelihood that things will change dramatically and there will be political progress in the near term? Are we merely beating a dead horse?''

Representative Tom Lantos was even more biting, concerning what can and cannot be trusted from the administration - that link has a CSPAN3 video clip of Lantos' earlier remarks.

In some pre-emptive action this morning, Texas Democratic Congressman Lloyd Doggett spoke on the House floor as the hearings were set to begin on the subject of how the surge has played out. Via a release from his office:

“The President’s surge is as successful as the President’s boast to capture Osama bin Laden ‘dead or alive.’”

“Now Congress must respond to the President’s propaganda surge with a truth surge, with a memory surge that reminds America of repeated false cries of progress and phony excuses that have only brought our families more insecurity. Congress must learn from the courage of our troops. Appeasement will not stop this wrongheaded administration policy. More blank checks will only drain our national treasury while fueling more death and destruction that only endangers our families.”

You can see some video of that on the YouTube.

There will be more of this in the days to come, and the questioning will bear out some details that I'm sure will be pored over by the media, the politicos, and the bloggers as well. MSNBC is running good coverage, and I'm sure on the news outlet of your choice you can catch the feed from the Hill.