Clinton, McCain, Obama question Gen. Petraeus

BY GLENN THRUSH | glenn.thrush@newsday.com

9:05 PM EDT, April 8, 2008

WASHINGTON - Gen. David Petraeus stepped into the crossfire of presidential politics on Capitol Hill Tuesday as Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama attacked his plan to indefinitely suspend troop reductions this summer.

John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee and a supporter of the war, was considerably more gentle in his questioning of Petraeus and Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, during their testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The Arizona senator, who recently confused the two main Muslim sects -- Shia and Sunni -- nearly repeated the gaffe, calling Sunni-led al-Qaida "an obscure sect of the Shias" before quickly correcting himself.

The reappearance of the three presidential contenders in their senatorial haunts after months on the campaign trail added drama to what were already high-stakes hearings on the future of American involvement in a conflict that has cost more than 4,000 U.S. lives.

The contrast between the Democrats' styles was unmistakable, with Obama asking expansive questions about Iraq's future, while Clinton peppered the witnesses with precise, lawyerly queries on specific strategies.

But confounding expectations they would come out swinging, Obama and Clinton appeared respectful -- even subdued -- trying to highlight their disagreements with the highly regarded general without alienating national-security-conscious voters.

"I think it's time to begin an orderly process of withdrawing our troops, start rebuilding our military and focusing on the challenges posed by Afghanistan," Clinton said at the Armed Services morning hearing.

Obama adopted a similar tone during an afternoon session of the Foreign Affairs committee. "I believe we are more likely to resolve it if we are applying increased pressure in a measured way, which, in my mind, includes a timetable for withdrawal."

Obama, whom Republicans have attacked as soft on defense, defended his plan to remove one to two brigades a month from Iraq, saying he favored a "measured," not "precipitous" withdrawal.

The Illinois Democrat also took a swipe at Clinton for her October 2002 vote in favor of the invasion, saying he didn't blame Petraeus because the general wasn't involved in the original decision-making process. "You are cleaning up the mess afterwards," said Obama, who backs direct negotiations with Iran, which has been backing some Shia militias.

In one striking exchange, Clinton calmly walked Crocker -- a seasoned diplomat -- into a political ambush by asking if the Iraqi parliament would get a chance to vote on a long-term security agreement this summer. Crocker said such a vote was possible.

She then asked if the U.S. Congress would be given a similar chance to vote.

No, Crocker replied, "We intend to negotiate this as an executive agreement."

Springing the trap, Clinton said, "It seems odd, I think, to Americans who are being asked to commit for an indefinite period of time the lives of our young men and women in uniform ... if the Iraqi parliament may have a chance to consider this agreement United States Congress may not."

Clinton and Obama have popular sentiment on their side: A new AP-Ipsos poll shows only 31 percent of those polled approve of the president's handling of the war.

McCain, whose support of the war could be a serious political liability, said he recognized growing sentiment for a quick exit, but conditioned success on maintaining a major troop presence until the Iraqi government and military are stable.

Staff writer Nia-Malika Henderson contributed to this story.