U.S. Congressman John Boozman 3rd District of Arkansas

With Gen. Petraeus

Share This Page Slashdot Del.icio.us Google Digg Reddit Newsvine Furl Yahoo Facebook

Washington, Sep 10, 2007 - U.S. Representative John Boozman (R-AR) today condemned an advertisement in Monday morning’s New York Times by MoveOn.org which defames General David Petraeus, Commanding General, Multi-National Force – Iraq.

“Apparently, the ‘politics of personal-destruction’ now extend to four-star generals actively serving in war zones,” Boozman said. “Honest disagreements with the policies of government on how to create a safe and stable Iraq should be debated. However, this baseless attack on Gen. Petraeus, a soldier who enjoyed unanimous – bipartisan – support a few short months ago, is nothing but a hit piece against the general, his command, and the men and women in Iraq – all of this before even hearing the general give his report.”

The full-page ad, entitled “General Petraeus or General Betray-Us?”, accusing Petraeus of “cooking the books.”

“I have met, face-to-face, with General Petraeus in Iraq. He gave me an honest assessment of the situation in Iraq. To accuse the general of ‘cooking the books,’ is accusing the men and women in uniform serving under him of taking part in a deception on a grand scale, since it is their action which forms the basis of his report.

“The men and women of the American military deserve better from an organization which enjoys the freedom of speech that very military provides them. I urge my colleagues, on both sides, to condemn this step by MoveOn in the strongest terms,” Boozman added.

NOTE: This ad comes on the heels of an article from Friday’s Politico: “‘No one wants to call [Petraeus] a liar on national TV,’ noted one Democratic senator, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. ‘The expectation is that the outside groups will do this for us.” (Politico, 9/7/08)