The Real Legacy of David Petraeus Posted by Michael Cohen

In a few weeks from now David Petraeus will leave the US military to take on his new responsibilities as Director of Central Intelligence. I look forward to this happening because then hopefully I will no longer have to read valentines to Petraeus like the one Joe Klein just published in Time magazine titled "David Petraeus Brilliant Career." I like Joe and we've broken bread a few times, but I enjoyed this piece better when David Ignatius first wrote it.

Klein relies on the tired notion that Petraeus revolutionized the armed forces:

In truth, the general's most important legacy may lie in the role he has played in transforming the Army from a blunt instrument, designed to fight tank battles on the plains of Europe, into a "learning institution" that trains its troops for the flexibility and creativity necessary to fight guerrilla wars in the information age.

Really? Do people really believe that until David Petraeus showed up the Army had not evolved much since it was preparing for tank battles in the Fulda Gap? My friend Gian Gentile has long, and correctly, disputed the narrative that Petraeus dramatically shifted US tactics in Iraq when he became theater commander in 2007. (Of course, the very idea that it was US tactics that led to increased stability in Iraq is, and should be, a greatly discredited notion).

Indeed, what is perhaps most striking about what happened under Petraeus command is the extent to which he relied on traditional methods of war-fighting. (Ironically, it was the period in 2009 to mid-2010 when Petraeus wasn't in charge in Afghanistan that the US military more assiduously adopted creative and flexible, though ultimately failed, tactics in line like restricted rules of engagement to prevent civilian casualties.) Petraeus's methods, on the other hand, relied on a very different set of operational tools. In Iraq for example, while there was a nominal nod to "hearts and minds" what was far more decisive was the ramping up the use of airstrikes and support for Sunni militias that didn't necessarily adhere to all the precepts of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

There is a similar pattern visible in Afghanistan where, as Noah Schactman has well-documented at Danger Room, after taking command Petraeus greatly increased the use of air power (and has also relied on dubious local militias). As in Iraq, civilian casualties in Afghanistan have increased at the same time. The notion put forward by counter-insurgency advocates that COIN fights are somehow more humane and protective of civilians is belied by basic data.  Quite simply, there is nothing kinder or gentler about the methods used by Petraeus to fight America's wars - that's merely the spin pushed to gullible reporters and promoted by COIN acolytes. It's just war as its always been known.

In reality, Petraeus's greatest legacy is not that he ended America's wars, but rather extended them. It was the positive and self-serving spin put out by Petraeus and his merry band of COINdinistas that convinced policy-makers what had supposedly worked in Iraq could work in Afghanistan. If not for the surge narrative, loyally fostered here by Klein, would Obama have ever agreed to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan in December 2009? I seriously doubt it.

Petraeus certainly deserves credit for taking advantage of changes taking place in Iraqi society in 2007 and 2008 (although it must be fairly noted that the preponderance of responsibility for these advances belongs with Iraqis themselves). This is clearly an important part of his legacy. However, there is also a fairly pungent criticism of Petraeus's legacy - namely that he advocated for escalation in Afghanistan, under the rubric of counter-insurgency, and it has met few of its goals since then and instead mired the US more deeply in the conflict.

Civilian casualties have increased, relations with Pakistan have grown worse, the Afghan government has not stood up, there is precious little indication that the Afghan people has swung in support of US objectives, and - as has been documented repeatedly -- Petraeus's confident assurance to President Obama that within 18 months of increasing troop levels in Afghanistan the US would be able to turn over security to the Afghan security forces did not happen. Moreover, it is very difficult to argue that the United States is any closer to a peaceful resolution of the war in Afghanistan than it was in 2009 or, for that matter, has significantly furthered its national interests there.

David Petraeus deserves enormous praise for his service to the country - and I salute it. But his legacy as a general, and its impact on US national security, merits an honest appraisal of his actions in both Iraq and Afghanistan. 

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Michael - Gen Petraeus will have served his country on active duty for 37 years when he retires in August, then go right back to work for her. He graduated in the top 5% of his class at WP. He endured and survived a dangerous and Army transforming during the 1970s. He was picked out in the early 80's as a future leader when he finished first in his class at CGSC. He worked for and been around the people who ran the Army during the 80's and 90's. When he was a Battalion Cdr, he took a M16 round in the chest during a training accident. His 5 wartime commands and legacy as a GO is actually unmatched since WWII; I am not sure there were any 5 Command GO's there either. I don't think he's a one COIN size all fits every solution - he commanded the 101st Airborne in what was a very conventional run up to Baghdad in 2003. He's rescued the Army when two GOs were not able to either finish the job they started or do the job they were supposed to do. If you have heard him speak, he is completely aware of the situation and conditions on the ground being different in Iraq from Afghanistan, and applied he felt were appropriate solutions to each. You make a lot of excellent points in this, you always do - some of which should still be up for discussion, some remain to be seen. Gen Petraeus surely didn't extend two wars. It's also not a General's job to end wars - it's his job to win them - which means setting the conditions on the ground for the political negotiations to happen. Of course his legacy should be looked at critically, and measured against results. I don't believe his interests have ever been self serving to advance some personal agenda - he's given the advice to the people who make the decisions his experience of years in the military. I am not sure what kind of GO you have wanted during this post 9/11 period and fighting two wars over the past 9+ years, but I will tell you once again the country was fortunate to have the right military leadership at the right time when it counted most.

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