McCain, Lieberman: Give Petraeus A Fair Hearing

"Listening to Petraeus" by Senators John McCain and Joseph Lieberman say that the Bush administration clung for too long to a flawed strategy in Iraq - and that Bush had the courage to change course.  They implore the Congress to give General Petraeus a fair hearing and to try to find it in their hearts to be open to what he has to say.

Whatever the shortcomings of our friends in Iraq, they are no excuse for us to retreat from our enemies like al Qaeda and Iran, who pose a mortal threat to our vital national interests. We must understand that today in Iraq we are fighting and defeating the same terrorist network that attacked on 9/11. As al Qaeda in Iraq continues to be hunted down and rooted out, and the Iraqi Army continues to improve, the U.S. footprint will no doubt adjust. But these adjustments should be left to the discretion of Gen. Petraeus, not forced on our troops by politicians in Washington with a 6,000-mile congressional screwdriver, and, perhaps, an eye on the 2008 election.