Ad critical of general assailed in GOP camp

A highly charged ad in which the antiwar group MoveOn.org questioned the independence and integrity of General David H. Petraeus provoked a political spat yesterday even as the top US commander in Iraq testified before Congress.

Republicans, including several running for president, condemned the full-page ad, which ran in yesterday's New York Times. Democratic presidential hopefuls distanced themselves, but did not directly rebuke the group, which claims a membership of 3.3 million and has become a powerful voice of the party's left wing.

The ad showed a large picture of Petraeus with the caption: "GENERAL PETRAEUS OR GENERAL BETRAY US? Cooking the Books for the White House." It accused Petraeus of using doctored statistics to claim progress is being made in Iraq.

Several Republican presidential candidates pounced on an opportunity to force their Democratic rivals to choose between alienating their party's liberal wing or appearing to bow to it. Mitt Romney, the first to denounce the ad in a statement first published on the conservative National Review Online, called it an "outrageous act" and demanded that Democrats disavow it.

"Democrats must make a choice," said the former Massachusetts governor. "Will they embrace these deplorable tactics or give General Petraeus a fair hearing?"

Senator John McCain of Arizona called the ad "a McCarthyite attack." Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani said, "These times call for statesmen, not political rhetoric." Former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson called on the Democratic Party and Democratic candidates "to repudiate the libel of this patriotic American."

But the Democratic candidates stopped short of that.

"Senator Obama's question is not about General Petraeus's patriotism. It's about his logic," said Bill Burton, a spokesman for Senator Barack Obama of Illinois. "There's no evidence that this surge is producing the political progress needed to resolve the civil war in Iraq, or that it will be accomplished through more of the same."

Phil Singer, a spokesman for Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, said, "It is unfortunate that Republican presidential candidates are focused on generating a political sideshow instead of discussing the president's failed war policy."

Other leading Democrats, however, said that MoveOn.org had gone too far.

US Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts said on MSNBC: "I believe that ad was just simply over the top, and I think it's inappropriate, period."

Eli Pariser, executive director of MoveOn.org's political action committee, issued a statement saying the group stands by the ad and that "every major independent study and many major news organizations cast serious doubt on Petraeus's claims."

The public appears divided over the credibility of Petraeus and other military commanders.

A New York Times/CBS poll published Sunday indicated that 68 percent of Americans trusted US military commanders the most with being able to successfully resolve the war - far more than the 21 percent who said they most trusted Congress and the 5 percent who said they trusted the Bush administration.

But in a USA Today/Gallup Poll published yesterday, 53 percent of respondents said they expected Petraeus to deliver "a biased report that reflects what the Bush administration wants the public to believe."

Petraeus emphasized his independence. "Although I have briefed my assessment and recommendations to my chain of command, I wrote this testimony myself. It has not been cleared by nor shared with anyone in the Pentagon, the White House, or Congress," he said in his remarks.

Lisa Wangsness can be reached at lwangsness@globe.com.