Passing the buck getting worn

McCain makes another national security gaffe. Had he not paid attention, or was he falling back on a familiar ploy: 'When in doubt, pass the buck to Petraeus.'

Speaking Monday at the annual meeting of the Associated Press, McCain was asked whether he, if elected, would shift combat troops from Iraq to Afghanistan to intensify the search for al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

"I would not do that unless Gen. [David] Petraeus said that he felt that the situation called for that," McCain said, referring to the top U.S. commander in Iraq.

Petraeus, however, made clear last week that he has nothing to do with the decision. Testifying last week before four congressional committees, including the Senate Armed Services Committee on which McCain is the ranking Republican, Petraeus said the decision about whether troops could be shifted from Iraq to Afghanistan was not his responsibility because his portfolio is limited to the multi-national force in Iraq.

Perhaps a bit of both.

Petraeus not interested in public office

Four-star Army Gen. David Petraeus tells NBC's Brian Williams that he will "never" run for public office.

The New Jersey native delivered the Sherman statement last year when Fox News' Mike Wallace asked him if he were interested in the Republican nomination for vice president.

Bacevich on Petraeus

Andrew J. Bacevich writes about the General David Petraeus' plans for Iraq in The New Republic.

Among his favorite axioms is this: "Any army of liberation has a certain half-life before it becomes an army of occupation." Petraeus made this comment repeatedly to reporters in 2003 and 2004. He reiterated the point in a 2006 article summarizing his own lessons from Iraq. The point is not without wisdom. It also possesses immediate relevance to matters at hand. Somewhat coyly, Petraeus has never specified the duration of this half-life. Yet this much is certain: The moment when Americans might have persuaded Iraqis to embrace them as liberators has long since passed.