McChrystal is out

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PALADIN85020

PALADIN85020

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Gen. David Petraeus will take over for Gen. Stanley McChrystal as the top commander in Afghanistan after Obama relieves him of duties following controversial remarks.

To his detriment, McChrystal has lots of military experience, but no political savvy.

To his detriment, Obama has lots of political experience, but no military savvy.

I think the loser here is the American war effort in Afghanistan.

I hope that if McChrystal resigns his commission, he will take every opportunity to voice his opinions, since he will no longer be constrained. It would be very interesting.

John
 
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I don't see how there could have been any other outcome.

I would like for M to voice his opinions, but I hope whatever he does or says after his retirement isn't to the detriment of the effort in Afghanistan. It might be better if he would wait a year before speaking out.
 
I saw a brief interview with the author of the Rolling Stone article. He seemed to have nothing but respect for the General. And less kind words to say about the Obama administration.

In the end, the fact remains that Obama is the least experienced man in the room, whatever room he walks into, in whatever capacity.

Patton was a General that would take no Quarter from a sissified civilian politician who wasn't fit to lick his boots. McCrystal is no different.

Ask me how I really feel?
 
Not being a military feller myself and only knowing of it what I've been told by relatives and friends and what I've read in the history books...

It seems that Gen. McC. life kinda parallels that of Gen. Grant in some ways.

He seems to be a feller I'd get along with mostly- I don't really know though. Perhaps I'll invite him down to come by and get some coffee and go fish'n and get the scoop.

I wonder if he'd help me hill the taters too? ;)
 
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This is bad for all. As the old saying goes "the truth will set you free"
 
There are plenty of civilian corporations where badmouthing, belittleling or ridiculing your superiors will get you a pink slip, PDQ, so that is not the issue here. Patton and MacArthur both suffered from oversize egos
and in MacArthur's case it was his faulty strategy that resulted in the 8th Army being too spread out and unable to resist the Chinese Intervention.
MacArthur's poor reaction to that reversal of fortune and the fact that it was Ridgway who turned the 8th Army around and saved MacArthur's hide
became known and led to the quick downturn in the "MacArthur for President" movement at the time.
As the French political figure Talleyrand said "We were given tongues to hide our thoughts."
 
But why is Gen Petraeus being demoted from Central Command to the Commander in Afganistan??
Gen McChrystal was subordinate to Gen Petraeus. OK, he mouthed off and got fired, but why punish his boss?

So who will be put into Central Command?

I understand that a C in Chief can do whatever he wants, but for a military guy, this is grade 3 strange.
Of course, I may be making a mistake by assuming the White House staff understands how strange this is.....
 
Read it. Not a lot new or surprising. Long war... frustration... cynicism... and a reporter taking pottymouth tattletale notes.
 
While I know that the general was out of line with his comments I have to respect him for doing it. The comparison with Patton was a good one.
 
The ridiculous rules of engagement that our troops are saddled with are the real story behind all of this.

Handing out a medal for "restaraint" is about the silliest thing I've ever heard of.

Just read LONE SURVIVOR to see how bad the ROE was a few years back, it's far worse now.
 
Maybe if Harry Reid loses in the elections, O will appoint him to replace Petraeus.:eek::D
 
McChrystal kept a civil tongue longer than I would have been able to while working for an unaccomplished community organizer who woke up one morning in command of the most powerful military on earth.

He is better off unemployed.
 
Too bad we cannot fire Obama.
This is a sad day for the war effort in Afganistan.
 
McChrystal will remain silent for a while but he will finally tell his side of the story sooner or later. Adm. Mullen is a wuss so he fits right in with this DC crowd. USMC Gen. James Mattis is the next guy to get screwed by this bunch because he also speaks the truth no matter how inconvenient it may be. Ask a grunt if you really want to know what is going on over there. It's sort of hard to fight with one hand tied behind your back and they still kick butt.
 
I think that, as far as this issue is concerned, the comparison to Patton is apt. Patton, brilliant military leader that he was, was simply unable to control his mouth, and sometimes his temper. As a result, his usefulness was diminished b/c Eisenhower, Marshall, and Roosevelt couldn't tolerate his inappropriate remarks and outbursts. Patton is a good example that the Press will quote you to screw you. Someone in both Generals' position (and their staffs) have to show more discretion.
 
Korea, Vietnam, First Gulf War, Iraq and Afghanistan. They all have in common the conduct of the war being driven by domestic political considerations, resulting in the unnecessary loss of the lives of American service men and women.

The United States engaged in total war in World War II, and I think the ferocity and ruthlessness scared Americans. We were much less ferocious and unwilling to be ruthless in Korea and Vietnam, always trying to fight just hard enough to induce our opponents to come to the negotiating table, no matter how many more military and civilian lives were lost by prolonging things longer than necessary. Why didn't we finish Saddam in 1991? Why do we fight with one arm tied behind our backs today in Iraq and Afghanistan?

At some point military leaders are going to say no more, no more sending my men and women off to die for the Commander in Chief's poll numbers.
 
I can't imagine what the good general was thinking when he consented to give, much less what his thought processes were during the interview. He is not getting paid to do interviews with Rolling Stone magazine. Second guess and bad mouth your boss and see how that flies... and I suspect your job is tad less critical than his.

For those folks here who are not familiar with the chain of command and the concept of following orders this may all be a tad unclear. To a career military officer, much less a general with McCrystal's outstanding record there never was any ambiguity. He was wrong and he knows it. President Obama may not be your cup of tea but he is the CIC and has been tasked with a critical, extremely difficult job in Afghanistan. If this had happened on W's watch I'm sure he would have done the exact same thing....except most folks here would not be roasting him for it.
 
To me... it sounds like a clear case of conscious "suicide by Rolling Stone".
 
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