The Washington Post:
Gen. David H. Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East, fell ill at the witness table during a Senate hearing Tuesday and had to be escorted from the room. He later returned and agreed to continue testifying Wednesday.
Petraeus was listening to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) express concern about the direction of the U.S. war effort in Afghanistan when he appeared to faint. Aides immediately rushed to help him, and he was led out of the hearing room.
A few minutes later, Sen. Carl M. Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Petraeus was eating and drinking and "appears to be doing very much better."
Before he fell ill, Petraeus had testified that U.S. and Afghan forces in Afghanistan were making progress in their fight against the Taliban insurgency.
Petraeus slumped in his chair as McCain was wrapping up questioning about whether the general supports President Obama's pledge to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan in July 2011.
Moments earlier, Petraeus said, "That is the policy, and I support it."
As McCain was winding up his statement and praising Petraeus and the U.S. military, he stopped speaking and stared as Petraeus appeared to pass out. Aides rushed to the general's side and after a few moments led him from the room with their hands under his arms.
About 25 minutes later, Petraeus came back into the hearing room and said he was prepared to resume testifying, but Levin overruled him and announced he was adjourning the hearing until Wednesday morning.
A smiling Petraeus said he had felt "a little lightheaded" and wryly assured the committee that "it wasn't Senator McCain's questions" that make him ill. "I just got dehydrated," he said.
