Now that General Petraeus has spoken...

I listened to as much of General David Petraeus' testimony as I possibly could earlier this week. He is a deeply committed public servant and, from all accounts, a terrific military leader.

I'm troubled that so many in Washington DC--including the President and Vice President of the United States--have really not heard what the General seems to be saying.

We are making "some" progress in Iraq. Not as much as we would hoped to have made...and not as little as the "naysayers" claim either.

While I was all for the Bush Administration's decision to "go to war" I was absolutely horrified that so little planning went into this "effort."

Retired General Eric Shinsecki warned both the Congress and the White House of what would be needed to bring about the desired results in this conflict. Less than one month later General Shinsecki was relieved of his duties as the Chief of Staff, United States Army.

Now retired, Former Secretary of State, (Retired General, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff) Colin Powell also candidly and clearly advised the Bush Administration of the obstacles and hurdles that would need to be crossed and cleared. But alas, Rumsfeld and Cheney--neither of them war heroes in the stretch of anyone's imagination--thought they knew better than the "proven heroes." Secretary Powell, however, had been the brilliant architect of the First Gulf War in 1991. But he too, was pushed aside and silenced by this brain-dead Administration.

Now, almost 4000 American service personnel have given their lives. And the talking heads in Washington still aren't listening too closely.

Why?