From the Senate Armed Services Committee--this morning, a well-publicized hearing with testimony from Gen. Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker. Live-blogging, up to a point:

CNN 9:30 a.m. Opening statements by Armed Services Comm Chair Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and ranking member John McCain, both of whom begin by thanking Petraeus and Crocker. Camera shots show Petraeus and Crocker not looking cheerful. Petraeus looks resentful; Crocker somber or perhaps exhausted. This is a thankless situation to be in--justifying or fronting for or even putting the best face possible on an immoral, illegal and unconstitutional invasion of another country.

While McCain reads his opening statement, there is a brief demonstration--cannot be heard from tv land--quickly silenced. McCain makes a slight joke about having had this happen to him before. His statement as expected cites improvements in Iraq, owing to a change of strategy--the surge--which he congratulates the U.S. as having adopted rather than "abandoning" Iraq to genocide, chaos, terrorism. Also as expected, McCain predicts dire consequences if we withdraw, including "victory" for al Qaeda.

McCain's entire rhetorical strategy--and presumably the GOP strategy, and that of its corporate-contractor donors--is to pose staying in Iraq as "victory" and leaving as "defeat." Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia gave a good answer to that slide on Sunday morning: the war in Iraq was over five years ago. In effect Webb pointed out that we crushed Iraq militarily five years ago. We won five years ago. Everything since is not a 'war,' it's an occupation.

Q.E.D. At 9:50 a.m. the DOW industrial average is down about 60.