Go to their website to hear about what the GOP is foaming at the mouth about in the Patreaus hearing.
www.moveon.org
Thanks, Moveon, for handing the hawks a softball that they gladly hit out of the park.
I've been a Moveon member for several years and have supported them financially and otherwise through a number of controversies where they were unjustly attacked. Today's ad in the NY Times was completely wrongheaded and stupid as strategy for ending the war.
One thing war protesters should have learned from Vietnam was not to attack the troops for following misguided orders. That being said, if a military man were to put himself in a position where he has been blatantly lying and obfuscating to the American people time and again, then it would be appropriate to call him out. This is not the case with Patraeus, who can be guarded and mindful of who he reports to, but has not demonstrated a tendency towards "betrayal" of trust.
The current military strategy, call it the "surge" if you will, has had a dampening effect on violence. It is likely short term, transitory and built on a house of cards, but it is having some effect. That's what the general is testifying about and good for him. It doesn't change the overall picture, as John Kerry wisely pointed out before the hearing. Kerry was quick to denunciate the Moveon ad, and rightly so. It serves only the hawk fringe to come out attacking a soldier, doing what he was told and apparently doing it as best he can. Saying that he will be "cooking the books" distracts from the main point that no political progress has been, or is likely to be made, no matter what small gains the troops accomplish.
It's wise to point out the spinning of data, and the fact that ethnic cleansing has helped reduce violence as much as the surge. But attacking the messenger is stupid, stupid, stupid