Do we still remember the Republican adulation of General David Petraeus? He came before Congress to advocate in favor of the “surge” in Iraq. He soared like a neo-con hawk ready to swoop down and feed on the far-left intellect that broke rank with the Bush Administration’s Mid-East insanity. He was hailed a hero; conservatives paid homage to his wisdom in all matters Iraq. Do we remember?

In an appearance on Radio Free Europe Sunday, the man hailed by conservatives as the preeminent military figure of his generation, delivered his thoughts on Obama’s decision to close down Gitmo and end harsh interrogation techniques.

"I think, on balance, that those moves help [us]," said the chief of U.S. Central Command. "In fact, I have long been on record as having testified and also in helping write doctrine for interrogation techniques that are completely in line with the Geneva Convention. And as a division commander in Iraq in the early days, we put out guidance very early on to make sure that our soldiers, in fact, knew that we needed to stay within those guidelines.”

Wow. Did I hear this correctly? Did Gen. Patraeus break with conservative ideology, Bush’s Mid-East insanity, and former Sec. of Defense Rumsfeld’s biblical vision for war? Again I quote: "With respect to Guantanamo," Petraeus added, "I think that the closure in a responsible manner, obviously one that is certainly being worked out now by the Department of Justice—I talked to the Attorney General the other day [and] they have a very intensive effort ongoing to determine, indeed, what to do with the detainees who are left, how to deal with them in a legal way, and if continued incarceration is necessary—again how to take that forward. But doing that in a responsible manner, I think, sends an important message to the world, as does the commitment of the United States to observe the Geneva Convention when it comes to the treatment of detainees."

Patraeus’s statement  indicates the hawk is flying in a different direction, riding the winds of reason. Former Vice President Dick Cheney should gaze up at the sky and recognize the winds of reason: the refreshing breeze that cleanses after nasty weather. But he only points his shotgun, steadying his aim on the cries of indignation towards his policies and rancid rhetoric. He's blind to hawk's change in direction. But Neo-Cons should hoist their binoculars and follow the hawk’s flight of reason. The United States Senate, blinded by partisanship and misdirected fears, need only listen to the hawk they deem a national hero. 

Look up in the sky… do you see the hawk?