Petraeus 'fine' after passing out at Senate hearing

Central Command chief says he was simply dehydrated.

Gen. David Petraeus briefly passed out Tuesday morning while testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee. Petraeus' head went down on the table while Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., was telling him he was an American hero.

After a recess was called, the Central Command chief was escorted quickly out of the room, walking without assistance.

About half an hour later, he re-entered the room to continue his testimony on Afghanistan, but Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin announced he would put off the rest of the hearing until Wednesday. "I just got dehydrated," Gen. Petraeus told senators.

"Obviously, it was very scary and very worrisome," Levin told reporters after the hearing, noting that Petraeus had looked "very, very pale."

But the four-star general "looked fine" just 15 or 20 minutes later, after he had some food and water, Levin said.