Washington Post
The General Does Battle With . . . a Broken Mike
By Dana Milbank
Tuesday, September 11, 2007; A02
The best historical analogue for Gen. David Petraeus's appearance before
Congress yesterday might be found in the days of the Roman Republic.
Then, returning generals wearing laurel wreaths and purple robes and
riding in chariots were greeted at the city gate by senators and led
through a "Triumph" ceremony that included trumpeters and the slaying of
white bulls.
There were no animal sacrifices in the Cannon Caucus Room yesterday, but
Petraeus -- even the name is a felicitous echo of the Latin "patronus"
(protector) -- enjoyed the modern equivalent: Taking his place on a
raised platform in the middle of the room, the general, with four stars
on each shoulder and a chest full of ribbons, was surrounded by more
than 50 cameras and lawmakers lining up to pay respects.
Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs
Committee, led his wife through the throng to meet the great man. "What
a pleasure! What a pleasure!" Lantos called out.
The lawmakers used their allotted questioning time to heap linguistic
laurels on the visiting general, and, to a lesser extent, U.S.
Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker: "America's finest. . . . Our nation's
most capable. . . . The capability, the integrity, the intelligence and
the wisdom. . . . Nothing but admiration."
And that was from the Democrats.
With even the antiwar members of Congress fearful that criticism of
Petraeus would be seen as criticism of the troops, the main adversity
the general faced yesterday was of the technical variety.
When the long-anticipated moment finally arrived -- Petraeus giving the
testimony that would shape the future of the Iraq war -- the commanding
general in Iraq discovered that his microphone was dead.
"We will have to ask you to stand a bit closer to the microphone," said
Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), chairman of the House Armed Services
Committee. Still nothing. "Would somebody please fix the microphone?"
the chairman asked. Nobody could. "Is there any way to trade microphones
from the front row?" Nope: Those were dead, too.
Alas for the chairman, his own microphone worked too well. While
technicians scrambled to fix the audio problem, the 75-year-old Skelton
could be heard on C-SPAN muttering vulgarities.
For months, Petraeus's report to Congress had been billed as the moment
that could change the direction of the Iraq war. And so, they turned on
the chandeliers in the Cannon Caucus Room and brought in extra flags.
They draped blue cloths over folding card tables so 100 members of
Congress -- nearly a quarter of the House -- could face Petraeus. An
hour before the big show, the star witness took what he called a "recon"
walk through the chamber.
The long-anticipated moment never came, however, as even many of the
antiwar Democrats on the panel acknowledged that the military "surge"
Petraeus has led in Iraq has been a tactical success.
Republicans, lacking Democrats on the panel with whom to quarrel,
instead took aim at the liberal group MoveOn.org, which had a full-page
ad in the New York Times calling Petraeus "General Betray Us."
"I think it's an outrage," said Rep. Duncan Hunter (Calif.), top
Republican on the Armed Services Committee.
A prematurely overwrought Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) added in her
opening statement: "I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to
publicly denounce the ad." When nobody heeded her recommendation, she
later urged colleagues anew.
"Point of order," interrupted Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii). "Nobody
has to distance themselves from something they weren't associated with."
"Take it easy," replied Ros-Lehtinen, the ranking Republican on the
Foreign Affairs Committee.
Actually, the left would more credibly be accused of taking it too easy
-- on Petraeus. There was no protest visible outside the Cannon Building
-- unless you count the man in the devil costume with the sign that read
"I've got Petraeus by the soul." A "dog and pony show" promised by
MoveOn failed to materialize; when Eve Fairbanks of the New Republic
finally tracked down the show, she encountered only a few hounds and the
rumor of a person wearing a horse suit.
Part of the antiwar crowd's trouble was that General Betray Us didn't
sound like a warmonger. Though trying to punt until March a decision
about major troop reductions, he leavened his remarks with soothing
phrases such as "I have recommended a drawdown of the surge forces from
Iraq" and "Force reductions will continue beyond the pre-surge levels."
The abundant love for the mild general must have irked a dozen or so
demonstrators in the back two rows of the chamber. First came a woman
from Code Pink, evicted from the room for shouting "War criminal!" Then
Ray McGovern, a former intelligence analyst, was removed for hollering,
"Swear him in!" After a third heckler interrupted the proceedings, Rep.
Dan Burton (R-Ind.) requested that Skelton "get them out of here."
"You don't have to lecture me," Skelton snapped. "They'll be gone." But
they weren't. Petraeus's opening statement, and subsequent questioning,
were interrupted by several more shouts ("That's a lie! . . .
Warmongering! . . . We are slaughtering the Iraqi people!"). By late
afternoon, a Capitol Police officer brandishing a shotgun was patrolling
the line of people waiting for seats in the room.
Of course, the hecklers' disruptions were minor compared with the
technical problems. Soon after the microphone failure caused a 15-minute
delay, the lights in the room flickered, and several went out. Then came
another microphone problem in the first row.
In fact, the only predictable element of the afternoon was the
consistency of the praise for Petraeus.
"Thank you for your hard work, your skill and your dedication," Rep. Jim
Saxton (R-N.J.) said. Twice.
"You are the all-star team," added Rep. Vic Snyder (D-Ark.).
Even those who criticized the Bush administration went out of their way
to exempt the general. Lantos argued that the president has no
credibility, then quickly added, "This is not a knock on you, General
Petraeus." Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) said the troop increase has
"failed" and accused Petraeus of "cherry picking" before adding, "You
are a true patriot."
It was, in all, a welcome befitting a Roman general. Better, even:
Petraeus didn't even have to endure, as Roman generals did, the slave
holding the crown over his head and whispering in his ear: Sic transit
gloria mundi.
All glory is fleeting.
