Senate grills Petraeus

Politicians and the general define the victory differently. Barred from winning the war by the standard military method of crushing the resistance with all the available means, General Petraeus resorted to the second-best option: a string of tactical victories. His excellent troops flushed Iraqi insurgents from one stronghold after another. Petraeus even managed to abandon democracy in favor of tribal alliances in Anbar province of Iraq. Though the alliances with Sunni minority, copying Saddam’s power balancing, are temporary at least due to habitual treachery of tribal sheiks, Petraeus buys time to destroy Al Qaeda in Iraq. On tactical level, he is quite good. Israel learned in her conflicts with Palestine and Lebanon that tactics don’t cover for the lack of strategy. It is possible to win every battle and lose the war for the lack of realistic political objectives. Generals cannot save the day for American politicians.