General Petraeus is the ony one in the military responsible for the question of what we need to win in Iraq. Pentagon Press Secretary Morrell tries to clear this up:
MR. MORRELL: I would not discount any other opinions that are involved here, I mean, including the secretary's, Admiral Fallon's and the Joint Chiefs'. As you saw in September, all four of those groups -- individuals and groups were -- had an opportunity to share with the president what they thought the way ahead was.
As the secretary has shared with you all, there was remarkable consensus about the way ahead. There may well be consensus this time again, but clearly you hit on something that -- you know, we heard the president in Kuwait after meeting with General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker just a few weeks ago talk about that -- I think he said that General Petraeus should feel no pressure to draw down. I don't know the exact word, we can go back and look at it, but clearly he wants General Petraeus to come back to him with what he believes is the best plan for his mission.
And remember, General Petraeus's mission is only to win the battle in Iraq. Admiral Fallon has greater concerns. He's got to worry about the region. The chiefs have got to worry about the health of the force and our ability to handle other conflicts in the world. And the secretary has the overarching concern of the U.S. military.
So I think everybody's got their domain, everybody's going to present the president with what they think is best in light of their domain, and, of course, keeping in mind we're all on the same page. We all want to win in Iraq. We all wish to succeed in Iraq. But I think -- I wouldn't read too much into the fact that we keep talking about when General Petraeus comes back. Obviously, he is the most intimately familiar with what's going on Iraq and, therefore, what he says has special credibility, but I think everybody's opinions will be taken in consideration.
The emphasis on Petraeus' opinion carries the most weight with the president since the president shares the goal of winning in Iraq as the most important goal right now. And rightly so. The problems that the other advice seeks to avoid, whether strain or other potential threats in the region or globally, will only be much greater should we lose in Iraq.
Victory first. All else must wait.
