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Unlike yesterday, when the Petraeus-Crocker testimony before House committees was assigned to Pentagon correspondent at each network, today's Senate hearings were treated as political by ABC and CBS. Chip Reid, CBS' new Capitol Hill correspondent hired away from NBC, heard a "long and grueling day full of hostile questions and stern lectures." ABC's Jake Tapper (subscription required) concluded that, compared with yesterday, the witnesses "faced more of a grilling and a much deeper sense of skepticism."
For NBC's Pentagon correspondent Jim Miklaszewski, the headline exchange of the hearings was between the senior Republican John Warner and Petraeus: "As a strategy do you feel that that is making America safer?" "Sir, I believe that this is indeed the best course of action to achieve our objectives in Iraq." "Does that make America safer?" "Sir, I do not know actually." ABC's Tapper aired the same exchange, although not as his lead. CBS' Reid merely paraphrased the safety answer: "he was so focused on the mission he has not had time to sort that out."
At the White House, ABC's Martha Raddatz was leaked advance word on George Bush's televised speech to the nation Thursday. The President would announce the completion of the 30,000 troop surge by next July, with the withdrawal of the additional forces, reverting to previous levels of deployment. Raddatz reported that "many senior military officials wanted a much sharper and much faster drawdown because they are very concerned about the strain on the military--but David Petraeus trumped them all." And NBC's Miklaszewski noted that the 30,000 withdrawal was hardly a surprise at the hearings: it was "already in the works because the army was stretched to the limit."
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