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It may not be the same as MacArthur but this isn't the first time that McChrystal has attempted to wage policy wars with the administration through the press. If you will recall it was McChrystal's leaked memo in September of 2009 that resulted in a firestorm that unduly politicized the administrations attempt to carve together a cogent Afghan policy.
I had indeed forgotten that. All the more reason for Stan to sharpen the sword and fall on it.
Obama needs to fire him. Not tomorrow but today. If Obama fails to fire him then we should give up the whole idea of civilian command of the military in this country. You don't publicly air your opinions about your commander. They don't put up with that at ANY level of the military service. When I was in the Air Force and Reagan was elected as the President of the United States of America, I was not real pleased with it but I would not have dared put my face on TV and said "as a military member I am not happy with President Reagan and I think he is a fool". The consequences of such a thing would have been very bad for my future.
It was poor judgment of a 4-star general to give a personal ridiculing interview about the Commander-in-Chief. No matter what kind of fool Obama is. If the General believes what he said (which he obviously does), then why not stick to his guns? Afraid of the U.C.M.J. consequences? If so, that's weak. He knew what he was saying and should have the cajoles to stand by his inappropriate dressing down of the morons in the White House.
Leadership. is not always pretty as per the Command & General Staff rule book. Sometimes what needs to be said, ought to be said - and with conviction. I grow weary of so-called leaders like this who make off-handed comments about their poor leaders (true or not), then back-down when possible negative consequences arise. If the General believed his ridiculing of the WH, then stay the course.
The rules of engagement (tieing the hands of military commanders) affect the lives of honorable troops who are willing to stand for the liberty & freedom of our nation. Everyone 'in country' knows it. While the rest of the U. S. civilian population doesn't care, because it's not their problem, unless of course, it cuts into their 401K.
It accomplished what he needed to do...let the public know what's going on....he apologized for the profile but, he didn't say what he said wasn't true or that he feels any differently.
Seems odd people are so strongly in support of a general who had a role in covering up the friendly fire death of Pat Tillman.
General McChrystal apologizes for cover-up in friendly-fire death of ex-NFL star Pat Tillman
General McChrystal apologizes for cover-up in friendly-fire death of ex-NFL star Pat Tillman (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2009/06/02/2009-06-02_general_mcchrystal_apologizes_for_coverup_in_de ath_of_exnfl_star_pat_tillman.html - broken link)
What is up with that? The man is a liar and we are supposed to believe anything that comes out of his mouth now?
It is absolutely disgusting how people will condone the most despicable behavior if they think it will score points against the current president.
Hopefully McCrystal will take his firing like a man...and then tell the scumbag thug to go to hell. And then tell the public exactly what he thinks of Obama and his stupid administration without holding back...
If in fact the General is sacked by Obama, McCrystal, and if he is truly an intelligent and honorable man, should be silent for many years. Perhaps much later, if in fact there is a later for America, he should tell his story. My guess is that the General will retain his job after a strong butt-chewing but will also be given a recommendation that he start looking for another job.
That Americans have voted in a time of war to place our soldiers under the command of an artless and simplistic politician is unfortunate. They have done this in the past and we lost that war badly. Fortunately we now see the rats jumping this ship that they have helped torpedo with inexperience and ineptness. I can only hope they have to swim to shore in a BP oil slick.
They CAN win the war - however, the leadership - both past and present - is not interested in winning it.
No, the Afghan people are not interested in "winning" it. I am no sage, but since those heady days of the Taliban collapse, I have felt its up to them.
What do they want? Perpetual strife and underdevelopment? A government run be either an opium-financed kleptocracy or an opium/Saudi-financed theocracy?
The US and the West have poured billions of dollars into there and have shed a lot of blood. All that failed to turn Afghanistan into an embryonic Canada because those people are not interested in good government. We cannot make them care. They have to want it.
You can knock down all the tenements in a slum, build new ones with modern conveniences, and construct state of the art schools and it will still be a slum. You cannot reconstruct peoples' mindset.
The international oil companies still hope to have only one corrupt government to pay off so they can build the Trans Afghan Pipeline. Somehow they think this will be cheaper than paying off a couple of hundred separate village chiefs. It may or may not but it is not our place to help decide. I do not believe our Military should be used to force a solution just to save the international money managers some money or inconvenience. If they must use force let them pay for the mercenaries.
I am beginning to believe the US, along with the entire world, are the pawns being manipulated by the thousand or so billionaires that dominate international business. That is a small enough group to set up market destroying secret sharing arrangements to the detriment of almost all of us.
What is up with that? The man is a liar and we are supposed to believe anything that comes out of his mouth now?
It is absolutely disgusting how people will condone the most despicable behavior if they think it will score points against the current president.
Did not Obama "hand-pick" this General to run the Afghan War?
If in fact the General is sacked by Obama, McCrystal, and if he is truly an intelligent and honorable man, should be silent for many years. Perhaps much later, if in fact there is a later for America, he should tell his story. My guess is that the General will retain his job after a strong butt-chewing but will also be given a recommendation that he start looking for another job.
That Americans have voted in a time of war to place our soldiers under the command of an artless and simplistic politician is unfortunate. They have done this in the past and we lost that war badly. Fortunately we now see the rats jumping this ship that they have helped torpedo with inexperience and ineptness. I can only hope they have to swim to shore in a BP oil slick.
I can see McCrystal taking an ass-chewing, but I hope that McCrystal is man enough to tell Obama exactly how he feels also. It's a two-way deal. I realize that the POTUS has the big stick, but why in hell would McCrystal want to continue his efforts when the POTUS wouldn't give him but 20 minutes of his time, was ill-prepared when they did meet, and took eight months to give McCrystal a fraction of the additional troops the Pentagon experts recommended? I suspect Obama will spend more time with McCrystal chewing is ass than he gave the General concerning the war. We'll see if the General is a man...or a more like the wimp POTUS.
It accomplished what he needed to do...let the public know what's going on....he apologized for the profile but, he didn't say what he said wasn't true or that he feels any differently.
Accomplished what? Giving aid to our enemies? There are good reasons why generals have a code of honor to follow that says they keep their criticisms of their Commander in Chief out of the public realm. McChrystal allowed the Rollingstones reporter unlimited access to him and his staff and in dong so he gave our enemies a nail to use against use. He's an egoist who couldn't wait until after his retirement and the war to end before writing his tell-all book.
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