WASHINGTON (AFP) — General David Petraeus swapped the war zone in Iraq for the crossfire of the 2008 White House campaign Tuesday, as he endured a Capitol Hill grilling from the three senators who would be president.
In the latest twist to a campaign that has repeatedly defied convention, the man running the Iraq war was put through his paces by presumptive Republican nominee John McCain and Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
McCain who compares himself to the British wartime icon Winston Churchill, voiced strong support for the war, proclaiming America was no longer facing an "abyss" in Iraq, during a Senate Armed Services hearing.
Clinton waited three hours for her 10 minutes in the spotlight, played the stateswoman and abhored theatrics, but her voice dripped with disdain for Bush administration claims that the US troop surge strategy in Iraq was a success.
Senators ask questions in order of seniority, and Obama's own long vigil in a Senate Foreign Relations hearing reflected his short tenure in Washington, which rivals say makes him too inexperienced to be president, but which he argues proves he is not part of a poisoned political system.
One of the trio is set to inherit the bloody, costly and unpopular war in just nine months from outgoing President George W. Bush and their interventions were likely to set the course for the Iraq debate for the rest of the campaign.
As 71-year-old McCain headed off the first hearing for the Republican side, Clinton, 60, looked on, her head resting on her hand, wearing the same black-framed glasses she sported in a controversial television ad which said only she could handle a White House crisis breaking at 3:00 am.
McCain showed just how closely he has pinned his hopes of winning the White House in November's general election to events in Iraq.
"Success is within reach. Yet should the United States instead choose to withdraw from Iraq before adequate security is established, we will exchange for this victory, a defeat that is terrible and long lasting."
The Arizona senator was interrupted during his question and answer period by an anti-war protestor who stood on her chair and chanted "Senator McCain, there is no military solution," and held up a banner with an identical slogan.
McCain plugged away, but was interrupted by Democratic committee chairman Carl Levin calling for order.
"I have had this experience previously, Mr Chairman," McCain said.
Clinton listened quietly to the testimony, in one of her few moments of inactivity after more than a year on the frenetic campaign trail, occasionally sipping from a large white paper coffee cup.
"For the past five years, we have continually heard from the administration that things are getting better, that we are about to turn the corner," the New York senator finally told Petraeus and US ambassador to Baghdad Ryan Crocker.
"Each time, Iraqi leaders fail to deliver," she said, saying it was time to start an "orderly" US withdrawal from Iraq.
Obama, 46, declared the war in Iraq was a "massive strategic blunder" and attempted to head off claims he is a neophyte with detailed questions and observations delving deep into Iraq's sectarian make-up.
He also called for talks with US foe Iran, and a troop withdrawal timetable, to press Iraqi politicians to reconcile.
All day, there was a sense of the White House campaign, looming off-stage.
Democratic Foreign Relations committee chairman Joseph Biden playfully chided Republican colleague George Voinovich for looking at Obama and observing "we have somebody sitting across the table here who may be the next President of the United States."
"I can only imagine the headline in The Washington Post: Biden throws out people for cheering for Democratic candidate," he said, and then praised Clinton supporter Senator Bill Nelson for ceding his place to Obama.
"Just imagine that headline, as a supporter for Hillary. I think it's a good idea."
Levin praised Clinton and McCain for their restraint.
"I saw a minimal amount of presidential politics," he said. "I think people went really to the substance and avoided politicizing this hearing in any way."
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