August 30, 2007 (LPAC)-- Don't expect a printed, bound report by Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Iraq, when he comes to Washington, next month. Geoff Morrell, the new Pentagon press secretary, said, yesterday, that his understanding is that what Petraeus will deliver "is an assessment" to the White House and the Congress. Furthermore, Petraeus's assessment will be only one part of the process that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has set into motion. The White House will deliver a report to Congress that will include Petraeus's assessment as well as that of other top military leaders.

Morrell said that Gates "has been working hard to make sure the president will hear directly from each of his senior military advisors," not only Petraeus, but also U.S. Central Command chief Admiral William Fallon, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Peter Pace, as well as the rest of the service chiefs. He said Gates is determined "that each of these people will be able to present their advice directly and in an unvarnished way..." Gates, he said, is specifically not looking for consensus among these people and wants to make sure they can give their assessments to the president without "the normal bureaucratic massaging that sometimes eliminates the rough edges or the sharp differences between individuals..."

As for the $50 billion that the Washington Post reported, yesterday, that the Bush Administration was preparing to ask Congress for its wars, Morrell reported that Gates' first response to the story was "That's news to me." He insisted that no decisions will be made on additional funding until all of the reports next month have been made "and the president charts a way forward."