John Warner asked Petraeus is the war has been worth it. Petraeus filibustered for awhile, talking about the seeds of democracy and the crimes of Hussein. Warner eventually cut him off: "My time on the clock is moving quickly, and I asked a simple question. Is it worth it?" "Yes, it's been worth it," says Petraeus. Crocker agrees, and says "in the year I've been in Iraq, we've seen a deterioration on al Qaeda's capabilities. To the extent that al Qaeda is our mortal and strategic enemy, and they are now weaker in Iraq, we are safer." That they didn't exist in Iraq before we invaded is, unsurprisingly, not brought up.
