Don't Listen to Me...

...liten to the Generals.

First up, Gen Petraeus appeared with Bill Bennett on his radio this morning.

"...the big comprehensive offensive that we launched in mid-June is on track. It has made progress against al-Qaeda. There have been sacrafices. A number of us said this would get harder before it gets easier. You can't go on the offensive like our soldiers and Marines have with out taking casualties, tragically. There has been quite a bit of progress in a number of different areas..."

Listen to the audio here. (Hat Tip: K-Lo)

Meanwhile Grim at Blackfive posts links to a bloggers roundtable with BGen Wolff (COMMANDER, COALITION MILITARY ASSISTANCE TRAINING TEAM):

GRIM: I noticed -- we were talking earlier about the Washington clock. I noticed yesterday in a document that was really about -- it was really a partisan document issued by the Senate majority leader's office [GRIM: my bad memory -- it was actually from the Democratic Caucus's Senate office] about Republican obstructionism. As sort of a throwaway line at the last part of the document, it said that several hundred soldiers have died in Bush's failed surge policy. Do you feel that it is fair to say that the surge has failed?

GEN. WOLFF: No. Simple answer is no. I mean, I think you have to see how this plays out over time......

[...]

Q So these statements have consequences, then, on the battlefield.

GEN. WOLFF: Well, yeah, of course. All of our statements do. And so, I mean, again, you know, our politicians have a responsibility to the American people, and so do we. And we have to recognize that things play out in the media. And there are -- that's just a fact.

Listen to the audio here.

For a lot more of some very interesting interviews with senior military leaders, check out the DoD's Blogger's Roundtable website