House Foreign Affairs Chairman Howard Berman, California Democrat, and his Republican counterpart, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Florida Republican, repeated partisan talking points on the situation in Iraq during opening statements during today's hearing with testimony from Army Gen. David H. Petraeus and Ambassador to Iraq Ryan C. Crocker.

Berman claimed the troop "surge" had been ineffective and that the United States is "treading water," while Ros-Lehtinen warned against the power vacuum that would be left if U.S. troops were to withdraw.

"(I)n some areas we seem to be slipping back," Berman said. "Our diplomats and other civilian personnel are literally under fire. For more than two weeks our embassy is bombarded. In all, the past two-plus weeks have seen the worst violence in the Green Zone since the war began five years ago."

— Carrie Sheffield, Web editor, The Washington Times