The senator responds ...

My email was answered on Friday ...

Dear Mr. Frederick:

Thank you for contacting me regarding General David Petraeus. I appreciate hearing from you.

As you know, the group MoveOn.org recently ran an advertisement in which it referred to General Petraeus as "General Betray Us." While I support free speech under the First Amendment, I believe General Petraeus is an honorable man who provided his honest assessment of the situation in Iraq.

The Senate recently voted on two measures offered as amendments to the Defense Authorization bill regarding personal attacks on members of the military. One condemned personal attacks on General Petraeus and other members of the armed services. The second condemned attacks on the honor, integrity and patriotism of current and former service members who have served honorably. I supported both of these measures.

While I do not question the sincerity of General Petraeus' testimony, I oppose President Bush's handling of the war. The brave men and women who serve in our Armed Forces have done everything that has been asked of them, and they have done it well. I will continue to give them the funding they need to stay as safe as possible and do their jobs to the best of their ability. However, changing course in Iraq is a requirement to prevent those troops from becoming further embroiled in the Iraqi civil war. I will continue to work to put pressure on the President to bring our combat troops home. I am sorry you are disappointed but I can assure you that the majority of us in Congress want to end the war in Iraq by trying to overcome the constitutional barrier of the President's veto.

All best,
Senator Claire McCaskill

Kudos for the timely reply. Still, this reply doesn't really speak to my original email.