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Anatomy of a False Allegation: The Petraeus Controversy

(CAMERA) Steven Stotsky - You've heard it from CNN and from the BBC that Gen. David Petraeus warned "that American lives are being endangered by the widespread bitterness engendered by an unresolved Arab-Israeli conflict." The original source of Gen. Petraeus' alleged remarks is Mark Perry, one-time advisor to PLO leader Yasser Arafat who advocates for American engagement with Hamas and Hizbullah terrorists. In fact, Petraeus' written testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee lists the stalled Middle East peace process as one of eleven factors contributing to regional instability. Petraeus himself bluntly rejected Perry's interpretation of his testimony. While acknowledging that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict complicated his job, Petraeus reiterated that his Senate statement "did not say anything about settlements, didn't say anything about putting our soldiers at risk or something like that." The most striking aspect of this episode has been the endorsement by major media outlets like CNN and BBC of an unsubstantiated blogger's account to support their selective reading of Senate testimony against Petraeus' own word. The claim that he holds alleged Israeli intransigence in the peace process responsible for putting American lives at risk is not supported by anything the general has said or written.
2010-04-27 08:27:36
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