Granger sits down one-on-one with Gen. David Petraeus
Posted Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010
By CHRIS VAUGHN
cvaughn@star-telegram.com
Because U.S. Rep. Kay Granger helps control the purse strings for both the Defense Department and the State Department, it should not be surprising that Gen. David Petraeus might want to sit down with her to discuss operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and the turmoil of the Middle East.
Except it was surprising to Granger, who is used to sharing her time with the U.S. Central Command leader with other congressmen.
“Astounding,” the Fort Worth Republican said after her one-hour meeting with Petraeus on Wednesday. “To say I was honored is an understatement.”
In a wide-ranging discussion with the four-star general, they covered the “surge” of troops to Afghanistan this year and their withdrawal, the importance of Pakistan, the danger of al Qaeda in Yemen and the American public’s appetite for more war. Granger, in fact, offered Petraeus advice for his scheduled speech next week in Dallas before the World Affairs Council.
“People are weary of war,” she said. “It’s been a long time, and there has been a lot of death. Americans are not as supportive as they were when we first went to Afghanistan. People always want to support our troops, but he needs to make the case” for Afghanistan.
Granger said Petraeus assuaged her concerns that U.S. troops would begin automatically withdrawing in July 2011, a date given by President Barack Obama.
Petraeus made clear, though, that progress in Afghanistan would be hard and costly, she said. “It will get worse before it gets better,” she said he told her.
But, she said, he also told her that when the Iraqi surge started, “Iraq was in much worse condition than Afghanistan is today.”
