Rochester area Representatives Randy Kuhl and Louise Slaughter are frequently on opposite sides of an issue, and on the Petraeus-Crocker hearings in Congress this week, they couldn't be farther apart.

In a press release issued just after noon, Kuhl warned against "a precipitous withdrawal" from Iraq which, he said, "will create both a humanitarian disaster and a national security crisis."

Kuhl made it clear that as he campaigns for re-election, he'll be supporting President Bush's Iraq policies. "Too many current and aspiring members of Congress are quick to ignore and refute the guidance of the two men who know the most about the military and diplomatic situation in Iraq," Kuhl said.

"I was raised, like many generations of Americans, on the principle that you must finish what you started," he said. "Regardless of one's opinion on how and why the United States became involved in Iraq, we must complete what we began. Helping give birth to democracy is not easy, but nothing worth having ever is."

But Slaughter blasted General Petraeus. "The testimony given by General Petraeus today was nothing more than a clear call for more of the same failed policies that have come to define the greatest foreign policy blunder in American history," Slaughter said in a press release. "For five long years, our brave men and women in uniform have sacrificed so much for their country. They deserve a genuine assessment of the situation on the ground, not cherry-picked accounts used to mask the realities of the conflict and to justify an open-ended commitment in Iraq."

"The violence in Iraq has not subsided," said Slaughter, "benchmarks for success have consistently not been met, and because of this over 4,000 troops have paid the ultimate price and thousands more have been wounded."

"I remain committed to pushing for a prompt troop withdrawal and will continue to demand accountability from the Administration," Slaughter said.