Army General David H. Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker told Congress the President’s surge has started to make political reconciliation possible, but Democrat leadership is unwilling to give the Iraqi government more time and are intensifying calls for withdrawl.

Majority Sen. Leader Harry Reid (D.-Nev.) held a press conference Wednesday afternoon to announce that Democrats would produce amendments to the defense authorization bill next week to “change the course of the war in Iraq” because “the surge has failed to bring the Iraqi government closer to political reconciliation.”

Reid would not reveal specifics of the amendments. He would only say the plan presented by Petraeus to begin taking troops out of Iraq and return to pre-surge levels by the end of August 2008 was “unacceptable.”

This reporter asked Reid: “One of the things that General Petraeus has argued is that security will lead to political reconciliation. And now, that we’re almost to that point, why should we start pulling out troops when we are almost there?”

Reid replied, “Your statement that we’re almost there is just a little bit short of being ridiculous, OK?”

The question was asked again: “Do you agree that security is the key to political reconciliation?”

Reid deferred to Armed Services Chairman Sen. Carl Levin (D.-Mich.). Levin answered, “The purpose of the surge was not accomplished because the politicians nationally have gone nowhere in terms of reconciling the differences and working out differences in legislation that have to be worked out for there to be national reconciliation.”

This response directly conflicts with the testimony given earlier this week by the top military commander and the U.S. diplomat.

Crocker testified to the Senate Foreign Affairs committee on Tuesday: “It is my judgment that Iraq completely unraveled in 2006 and in the beginning of 2007. Under those conditions...[it was] impossible to proceed with effective government or effective reconciliation. It is just in those last few months that those measures of violence have come down.”

“Political progress will only take place if sufficient security exists,” Petraeus stated in the same hearing.

While in Washington D.C., Petraeus and Crocker held media availability at the National Press Club on Wednesday morning. There, they reiterated their position that security was a pre-condition for united government. Continued...