General David Petraeus this week came back from Iraq, gave his status report and was grilled by both the Senate and House on a variety of issues on the war of Iraq. While his report was overwhelmingly optimistic it seemed that it did not change many people’s opinions on the Iraq War.

Petraeus had an incredibly difficult to task to do in front of Congress. He had to defend a belief, based on his experience, to an hostile Congress and even more hostile public. He faced hostile questions, hecklers, and liberal think tanks that tried to drag his name through the mud and muck of Washington, DC. Yet, he delivered his testimony and said what he believed to be the status of the War in Iraq.

Some people allege that the General’s testimony was falsified or made under extreme political pressure by the President. The evidence suggests that there was a lot of political pressure from the military establishment to support the continuation of the war in Iraq. It’s not as clear that he lied. In contrast, the evidence suggests that he believes every word he said.

It has said there are two kinds of people in politics. Those who lie and stretch the truth to meet the desire to stay in elected. Then there are people who are true believers in everything that they say. True believers are the most dangerous people in politics. They will fight to death to defend what they believe. Listening to the hearings it’s clear that the General is a true believer.

Robert McNara warns in his movie autobiography, The Fog of War, that seeing and experience are often deceiving. Petraeus went out and saw Iraq, but he was always surrounded by heavy guard and life was never at serious risk, unlike the troops and Iraqis who are on the front line. Petraeus was surrounded by the people who engineered the war and clearly where biased towards continuing the war.

Regardless of what you think of Petraeus’ views on the war it was good to hear his perspective on the war. His testimony provided countless new incites into the war that will inevitably be picked apart by both sides. He is a man deserving of incredible respect for the work he has done, regardless of whether or not you support him.