So ready for this presidency to be over.
Inside the Pentagon, a contingent of senior officers — including members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — has long pushed for a faster drawdown of forces to relieve stress on the Army and to meet needs elsewhere, particularly in Afghanistan.
Some senior officers have privately complained about Petraeus’ direct access to President Bush, noting that under law the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the primary military advisor to the president.
Late last year, there was even a move among some senior military officers within the Pentagon to reshape Petraeus’ role during this month’s congressional hearings, relegating his voice to just one of many heard by lawmakers.
Pentagon officers wanted to emphasize potentially competing views, particularly from Petraeus’ immediate superior at the time, Navy Adm. William J. Fallon, commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East. Fallon was forced to resign last month over differences with the White House. He has privately advocated a speedier drawdown in Iraq.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, will testify Wednesday on Capitol Hill. But Fallon’s resignation — and the White House’s decision to structure the week’s events almost identically to the September appearance — has returned the focus to Petraeus himself.
