Doesn't the army drug test soldiers anymore? This guy is doing acid; not a bad thing, but, on duty?
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McCain read to Casey a number of quotations from public statements he made during his time in Baghdad and pressed him to acknowledge failure.
"I do not believe that the current policy has failed," Casey said.
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McCain Zeroes in on Casey at Hearings
By ANNE FLAHERTY
The Associated Press
Thursday, February 1, 2007; 10:27 AM
WASHINGTON -- The Army general who led the Iraq war for 2 1/2 years came under fire Thursday from a leading supporter of President Bush's new strategy in Iraq as two other influential senators sought to gain GOP support for a compromise resolution against Bush's troop buildup.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., criticized Gen. George Casey for what he called misjudgments about the prospects for progress toward stabilizing Iraq during his tenure in Baghdad. McCain said he has "strong reservations" about Casey's nomination to become the next Army chief of staff.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., right, and committee member Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., center, talks with Adm. William Fallon on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2007, prior to Fallon's confirmation hearing before the committee to head commander of the U. S. Central Command. (
"While I don't in any way question your honor, your patriotism or your service to our country, I do question some of the decisions, the judgments you've made over the past two and a half years," McCain said. "During that time things have gotten markedly and progressively worse."
The proposed Senate resolution is likely to pose a threat to the White House because of its potential appeal to Republicans who have grown tired of the nearly four-year war and want a chance to express their concerns. The White House has been hoping to avoid an overwhelming congressional vote criticizing Bush's handling of the war.
At the White House, presidential spokesman Tony Snow was asked whether the administration is resigned to seeing Congress approve some form of resolution opposing a troop buildup.
"We're not resigned to anything," Snow said. "We're determined to move forward toward success in Iraq. Again, rather than trying to pull out the crystal ball, let's just see what happens on the Hill."
He said the White House is keeping an eye on the debate, but "the president's also not in the business of writing resolutions for a separate and coequal branch of government."
In his opening statement to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Casey defended his record as the top commander in Iraq, saying he remained true to his original commitment to request the number of troops he thought he needed to accomplish his mission.
Asked his view of Bush's new strategy, Casey said, "I believe it can work."
He said he asked for just two extra Army brigades for the Baghdad area _ less than half the number of extra troops that Bush has ordered to enter the capital in coming months. Casey said his subordinate commanders had told him two brigades would be enough to do the job.
He said success in Baghdad could be achieved with fewer than five extra brigades, but he added that this plan will give "great flexibility" to his successor.
Casey also spoke optimistically of the situation in Iraq.
"The struggle in Iraq is winnable," Casey said, but will take patience and will.
After asserting last week that "I'm the decision-maker" about troop levels in Iraq, Bush acknowledged that Congress has the power to cap force levels and put conditions on where soldiers are deployed.
"They can say, `We won't fund,' " he told The Wall Street Journal. "That is a constitutional authority of Congress. ... They have the right to try to use the power of the purse to determine policy." As for Congress having a voice on where troops go, Bush said, "They put conditions on funds all the time."
McCain read to Casey a number of quotations from public statements he made during his time in Baghdad and pressed him to acknowledge failure.
"I do not believe that the current policy has failed," Casey said.
McCain did not state flatly that he would oppose Casey's nomination to be Army chief of staff, replacing Gen. Peter Schoomaker. But he spoke harshly of Casey's record in Baghdad.
"I question seriously the judgment that was employed in your execution of your responsibilities in Iraq," he said. "And we have paid a very, very heavy price in American blood and treasure because of what is now agreed to by literally everyone as a failed policy."
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