Senator grills Army chief of staff nominee, saying he misled Congress

Senate Armed Services ranking member John McCain, R-Ariz., on Thursday rebuked the commander of U.S. military forces in Iraq, accusing him of misleading lawmakers about conditions in the increasingly unstable country. Gen. George Casey, nominated to be Army chief of staff, painted a "rosy scenario" of progress in Iraq and often set unattainable goals to secure the country, McCain said during Casey's confirmation hearing.

"I regret that we were not given more and better and more accurate information," he said. During the long Senate Armed Services Committee session, Casey fielded several tough questions from McCain, who said he has "serious concerns" about the general's ability to lead the Army. "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 told Casey.

Unlike other administration officials and senior military officers in recent weeks, Casey did not concede that past strategies fell short in Iraq. "I do not believe the current policy has failed," he said.

Casey described President Bush's new Iraq war strategy, including plans to send 21,500 more troops to secure Baghdad and Anbar province, as an enhancement of the military's current tactics in the war-torn country. And, though he backed Bush's new Iraq strategy, he asserted that the military could secure the country with far fewer troops than the five new brigades proposed by the White House. Nonetheless, he said, the additional troops will give Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, the incoming commander in Iraq, "great flexibility" at a "very important time."

Meanwhile, Casey acknowledged that the "situation in Iraq is not where I thought it would be when I was walking out the door," particularly in Baghdad. But he stressed that 14 of the 18 Iraqi provinces have fewer than 10 violent attacks each day, indicating that the military is having some success in Iraq. His comments differed widely from those of Adm. William Fallon, the White House's nominee to lead U.S. Central Command, who earlier this week told of a more dire situation on the ground.

"It's almost like I'm hearing two different wars being described here," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., one of McCain's strongest allies in the Senate.

It is unclear whether McCain, who has successfully blocked other high-level Pentagon nominations, will stand in the way of Casey's confirmation. He may have difficulty getting support from other committee members, several of whom stressed that Casey cannot be held solely responsible for the swelling violence in Iraq.

Virginia Sens. John Warner and James Webb, both former Navy secretaries, stressed that military officers report to Pentagon civilian leaders. "An equal, if not greater share" of the responsibility falls on the civilian leadership, Warner said. Webb noted that officers who have spoken out against the Bush administration have often lost their jobs. The consequences for failed strategies should be shared at "a far higher level" than the military commander in Iraq, he added.