McChrystal Breaks First Rule Of Fight Club

He talked about it, alright. Interesting that the report claims Gates and Hillary are supportive of him, while he's at odds with just about everyone else in the administration, including Obama. Fox has several quotes - "wimps" in the White House? Ouch!

I'd guess maybe two things are going on here. One, the profile was done over weeks and the reporter got them to drop their guard. Reporters are not your friend when they're working. And two, McChrystal and staff are about burned out and fed up.

The real news here may be that Obama claimed Afghanistan was thewar coming into office. He also set a withdrawal time-line. Is he about to lose his war? Sadly, it's hard to envision another scenario given that the country won't be squared away by the time Obama wants to leave. So, I think it's fair to say that, Obama is failing as C-I-C, just as he is everywhere else. And the fall-out from this may hurt him more than McChrystal, though I suspecthe has to fire him at this point. Oh well, McChrystal isn't exactly Einstein, he voter for Obama, after all!

The top U.S. war commander in Afghanistan is being called to the White House for a face-to-face meeting with President Obama after issuing an apology Tuesday for an interview in which he described the president as unprepared for their first meeting.

In the article in this week's issue of Rolling Stone, Gen. Stanley McChrystal also said he felt betrayed and blind-sided by his diplomatic partner, Ambassador Karl Eikenberry.

McChrystal's comments are reverberating through Washington and the Pentagon after the magazine depicted him as a lone wolf on the outs with many important figures in the Obama administration.

Comments

[section9]

McChrystal is right, of course. Obama and his staff don't know what the heck they are doing, other than the fact they want out of Afghanistan by 2011 and are merely buying time with American soldier's lives.

But it was McChrystal's duty to say none of this to a reporter and give him access like this. McChrystal needs to go.

Petraeus or Odierno never would have screwed the pooch like this.

[Scott]

Somehow I think McChrystal is too smart and disciplined for this to be an accident. Maybe he is tired of fighing this war with 1 1/2 hands tied behind his back. Medals for courageous restraint? Pulease! Setting up failure with Karzai. Alienating allies like England. Partnered with that genius Eikenberry (Did he win a Nobel prize?). An impossible and stupid deadline.

This rant could go on and on, but maybe McChrystal would rather be an effective "one-term" general than be a parner in another Obama failure.

[Reaganite Republican]

Maybe he doesn't mind sacrificing his career to get the truth out there?

He probably was aware of the consequences of his statements... what if he felt a desperate need for this country to wake up to what an incompetent and detached Commander-in-Chief we've got... it IS a matter of national security, and Obama's manufacured public image as capable and focused is a fraud... dangerously delusional.

It's entirely possible McChrystal thought it just that important...

[JustOneMan]

This morning on "Morning Blow"..all the left wing loons were bashing the General for breaking military protocol and demanding that he be fired...imagine if Bush was in office...The media would be calling the General a hero and demanding that Bush be impeached!!

[Steve C.]

Just what we need, more Reality TV! He won't be fired. If they were going to do that it would already be done. No, the White House, always concerned about "optics" (Since when did that little gem sneak into general use? Didn't it used to be a noun meaning lenses and stuff?) is going to use this opportunity to get some good old fashioned Harry Truman mileage out of this tempest in a teapot. I hope McChrystal has enough guts to resist a public apology along the lines of the old Soviet show trials. Maybe he will make a public statement while blinking "idiots" in morse code.

What's missing is any acknowledgement that there is a chain of command. McChrystal reports to Petreaus, who reports to Gates, who reports to Obama. A reprimand from Gates would be the most appropriate remedy. And please, please, please let's not delude ourselves into thinking that this is something new. Patton was relieved in 1945 for disparaging reconstruction in Germany. Truman fired McArthur for insubordination and Harkins was fired from MACV for reasons similar to the ones that got McKiernan fired.

I won't lose any sleep over McChrystal if he's fired. I respect him and his accomplishments and wouldn't hesitate to serve under him. But, we've got lots more generals where he came from and if our whole strategy for winning in Afghanistan is "more McChrystal" then we are well and truly....

[ANON]

I'm not so sure about that, if they're not going to fire him, why bother with the meeting? Obama is so thin skinned he wants to cuss the guy out in person? Obama's idea of management is to fire people when things go wrong, he thinks this makes him look tough.

I have a very hard timing though understanding why anyone at the Pentagon thought that an in depth interview with Rolling Stone was a good idea or would result in anything other than a piece that showcases rogue/kill crazy military run amok. So, maybe he did it on purpose as a final gesture.

[Kathleen Graham]

McChrystal will be reprimanded and released, as is fitting, for his comments. That said, I think he is prepared for this fate. I thank him for yet another personal sacrifice for his country. Once you lose all respect for your leaders, you must take a stand .... either you choose to turn your back and ignore blatant disregard for the safety of your country and troops or you sacrifice yourself for their safety. McCrystal chose the latter. It is the military way. I just hope this sacrifice will not go to waste on this amoral, weak, miserable excuse for a president. Thank you General McCrystal for your service and sacrifice. May God bless you in your new civilian life.

[Ricky]

Perhaps it is good that he be fired. He has shown serious lack of judgement twice,i.e voting for Obama; and granting interviews to Rolling Stones. And that maybe just scratching the surface.

[Captain Joe]

Michael Yon was right
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