The McChrystal mess; Update: Gibbs says Obama hasn’t talked with the general (nothing new there!); WH questions maturity, judgment
No matter how right or wrong I think Gen. McChrystal may be (praise here, criticism here), I think we can all agree that in a time of war, the last place a military commander should be blabbing is an anti-war pop culture rag that specializes in slime.
Sharia law remains a looming threat against Western civilization. Our men and women in uniform are targeted every day by Allahu Akbar-shouting jihadists. And in case you didn’t notice, self-declared “Muslim soldiers” are among us:
Calling himself a Muslim soldier, a defiant Pakistan-born U.S. citizen pleaded guilty Monday to carrying out the failed Times Square car bombing and left a sinister warning that unless the U.S. leaves Muslim lands alone, “we will be attacking U.S.”
Wearing a white skull cap, prison smocks and a dark beard, Faisal Shahzad entered the plea in U.S. District Court in Manhattan just days after a federal grand jury indicted him on 10 terrorism and weapons counts, some of which carried mandatory life prison sentences. He pleaded guilty to them all.
U.S. District Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum challenged Shahzad repeatedly with questions such as whether he had worried about killing children in Times Square.
“One has to understand where I’m coming from,” Shahzad calmly replied. “I consider myself … a Muslim soldier.”
More re. Shahzad from Scott Johnson at Power Line and Andy McCarthy at NRO. But we’re not talking about that today, are we?
Milblogger Matt Burdent at Blackfive sums up the McChrystal mess:
1. GEN McChrystal should never have said he voted for anyone. In fact, I know General Officers who claim they don’t vote for Presidents at all to avoid ever taking political sides. He voted for Obama?!
2. GEN McChrystal fired a subordinate for giving the reporter access to the general (in essence, he did his job – albeit, naively).
3. It is against the UCMJ to criticize the President, Congress, etc. Period.
4. This event is what the anti-war lefties want (we lost). This event is what the take-the-gloves-off right want (less ROE restrictions). However, this makes things in AFPAK infinitely more difficult.
Update: At the White House press briefing this afternoon, spokesman Robert Gibbs says Obama hasn’t talked to the general yet about the current unpleasantness. That’s nothing new, of course. Flashback September 2009:
“Once in 70 days”
By Michelle Malkin • September 28, 2009 11:09 AMThat’s how many times President Obama has talked to General Stanley McChrystal.
Obama is for “engagement” and “dialogue” with everyone else in the world except his own military commanders.
***
Milblogger Laughing Wolf at Blackfive:
Anyone who has done any reading on the situation in Afghanistan would be understanding of frustration with Eikenberry (see link on recall above), much less frustration with the administration, on the part of McChrystal and staff. That said, it seems a tad bit unwise to let loose on everyone in an interview while still in the middle of the fight. In point of fact, if the interview is even half of what is being belled in advance, then the fecal matter will be hitting the rotary impeller at warp speed. Even if it is not, expect to see this used to savage not just McChrystal but all military efforts. In fact, I will bet right now that his career is over, regardless of the content as politics will rule the day and there are many in political circles that want his scalp.
Which brings me to my final point on judgment and possible lack thereof. Who thought doing a frank and/or candid political interview with Rolling Stone while you are in the middle of the fight was a good idea? I can empathize with the frustration of not being given what you asked for and needed to do the job, or in finding yourself being attacked by the person who is supposed to be helping you and instead is doing everything they can openly or otherwise to block you, and in not seeing your ideas translated out and done as you desire. Yet, you don’t do something like this unless either you are already gone (and even then it’s not a good idea because of collateral damage), or all is already lost. So, was this just incredibly poor judgment on someones part in agreeing to the interview, or are other things in play?
***
William Jacobson at Legal Insurrection takes note of the Shinseki-McChrystal double standard.
WH spokesman Robert Gibbs notes at his press briefing this afternoon that the president hasn’t talked with McChrystal yet. Nothing new there. Flashback September 2009:
“Once in 70 days”
By Michelle Malkin • September 28, 2009 11:09 AMThat’s how many times President Obama has talked to General Stanley McChrystal.
Obama is for “engagement” and “dialogue” with everyone else in the world except his own military commanders.
***
To borrow a favorite phrase from Allahpundit, it’s come to this: Headline from ABC News – “White House Questions McChrystal’s Judgment, Maturity.”
Asked about a passage in the story where a McChrystal aide describes the general as having been “pretty disappointed” after his first meeting with President Obama because the president “didn’t seem very engaged,” Gibbs said McChrystal will “have his attention tomorrow.”
Gibbs just said parents of the more than 90,000 US troops in Afghaniatan need to be confident that the command structure — meaning McChrystal — is “capable and mature enough” for this mission.
Could McChrystal be fired?
“All options are on the table,” Gibbs said, though the president believes the general should be given a chance to explain himself. Gibbs declined to say whether the general’s job is safe, saying the public would know more after the meeting.
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Respectfully, I wish I can say “peace” is easy as packing up and going home and hugging family and friends and shouting all’s well in the world and we’re all safe now, but we took that isolationist view over ten years ago and my city lost its two tallest buildings because of it. It’s not a matter of saving Afghan nor Pakistan hides anymore; it’s saving ours. We will rue the day a million ways and be pointlessly slobbering over who to blame when Brooklyn-St. Louis-San Diego is vaporized by animals over there who bought/plotted/stole the nuke involved — and they’ve sworn to do such. “Sorry” and “We made a mistake” can’t resurrect a million lives. I’d rather our fine people there — who know the score and consequences involved — be given free license to do the job right over there to do how we did to passify Germany and Japan in WWII than take that seductively horrible risk of letting things go to hell over there because sooner or later sure as the sun rises hell will be coming to us. Yes, it’ll take blood – always does — but nowhere near as much that will be shed — here — if we follow the false illusions that simply not being there is “peace” and safety.
James Greenidge
Queens NY
Another reason why it was ridiculous to elect someone like Obama, who was not qualified to be commander in chief, during a time of war.
McCain would have been a much better choice for that reason alone. It is our BIGGEST challenge at this time. No, not health care, immigration reform, cap and tax, or SCOTUS nominations. Its the war stupid.
Sort of what I was saying in post #52 (with some rhetorical flourishes).
McChrystal has opted out of a failing strategy and exposed White House incompetence.
Good luck with your new gig on Fox News General.
Whether McChrystal goes through court martial procedures (Article 88 of the UCMJ) depends on how thin-skinned Obama is.
WH incompentence has long been exposed.
Actually, McChrystal’s behavior is is very compatible with the rest of Obama’s jerks, dolts and loons.
The buzy bee makes all the problems go away
Are you kidding? I am suprised the good general hasn’t been supplied with a pistol and one round in a quiet room yet.
I’m not. Obambi is a gun-grabber.
OTOH, the Administration could strap him to a waterboard and force him to listen to Lady Gaga.
Boy, when General Shinsheki?? criticised Bushs war strategy, the MSM went wild with how Bush said he would listen to his Generals but won’t. They pounded on Bush about the Generals comments and how he doesn’t listen to his commanders.
I think that General was retired too.
Now, not a peep of criticism of Obama, only criticism of General McC.
Premature – according to plans, that will be the standard method of miliatry retirment in such future cases once TEH WON has been installed Dictator for Life.
Many wonder if this was a deliberate move by McChrystal to expose this WH to the press—where the MSM fail to report–on if this war is going to be won and if, indeed, they want us to win. Victory is a word that I have not heard from Dear Leader’s mouth…
McChrystal has his faults and has made mistakes, and if it is his idea for our brave military to have to adhere to the current ROE, then I am glad he is going to be forced into resignation.
If he is simply tired of the diplomatic war, micromanaged by Dear Leader’s version of fighting terrorism, and that this war is turning into Vietnam—if he is exposing this war for what it is—then he is literally falling on the sword for his men and our country.
I wouldn’t do that to Osama bin Laden or Bahney Fwank even.
What really surprises me is that he chose Rolling Stone as his Judas.
If Obama was ever waterboarded, I would make him listen to a continuous recording of Slim Whitman’s “Una Paloma Blanca.”
I am not sure on this one. I have heard that McCrystal is responsible for the stupid ROE’s that have been put in place. If so, he should be sent on patrol with his troops till he can understand his idiotic actions.
On the other hand, if these policies have been forced on him, he needs to come clean and the politicians identified and tried for murder.
As to talking with Rolling Stone, he must have understood that even if he said nothing he would still get into trouble with the way they would write the article. If his staff said things, that is the same as if it came from him.
Obviously we did not learn a thing from Vietnam.
Again, someone else willing to cut his nose off to spite his face.
Never have I ever said that ‘retreat and peace’ is the answer. but again, we are there, we have been there and we have Faisal Shazad going there to take orders from them to blow us up here.
You don’t understand the concept of asymmetrical war. Our military is over there and fighting them. We can kill 100,000 of them there and still let them come to Time’s Square on a busy evening and try to kill women and children indiscriminately.
What is the problem in Afghanistan?
they train there and come here to blow us up.
Is there possibly another diplomatic solution that could keep us safe?
What if we didn’t allow them to travel here and didn’t allow Americans to travel either there or Pakistan?
Oh yeah, we’d rather kill them than offend them by being ‘racist’.
We aren’t safer by sending our military half way around the world to act as human targets and sitting ducks in a defensive ‘war’ where our rules of engagement encourage us to avoid killing anyone (even the enemy). . .
the money that we give to our ‘friends’ goes to fund our enemies.
Saying our military can’t protect us there is not the same as saying we should ignore the threat. We just need to address the threat in a different way.
This is an asymmetrical war. We can succeed there 10,000 times and they only have to succeed here once. The solution is in offending people instead of killing them. We aren’t allowed to offend anyone though.
Just don’t use “Indian Love Call”. The results can get messy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MhgnMX73Pw&feature=related
Although, I’ve heard that “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer” is the ultimate weapon.
Post McChrystal’s resignation – who will the O appoint? I predict a political appointment. Doesn’t even need to (in his opinion, I wager) to be a uniformed member.
God help us.
Was the general’s action a courageous one? No, but his resignation may become such. Depends on what he says.
Recall Gen. Petraeus fainting @ the congressional hearing @ Afghanistan last week? The pressure is way, way up for our military.
My opinion? Obama frequently fails to do what he says he will. I have no expectation that he will actually withdraw from Afghanistan like he said. That creates chaos in our planning, and everybody knows it. He quit the war “on day one,” as he likes to say.
Our military has fought a great fight in Afghanistan, but there is little that can happen to succeed there with Obama in office. He has to go, the sooner the better. Every time he violates the law, he needs to be indicted by congress for it.
Afghanistan is landlocked, so they’ll probably pick an Admiral.
The point cannot be made oftern enough
In Obamas own words, I want to hear what victory in Afghanistan is
There was no real functioning governemnt before we got there, there will not be one in July 2011
If it is nation building, our grandchildren and beyond will still be polishing that job in 60 years
Obama called this a “War of Necessity”
We are all about to see what means tomorrow morning, or not
Perhaps Obama should call his old buddy Skippy Gates and have him serve beer tomorrow
That so far seems to have been Obamas only experience in conflict resolution
Eureka!
Envision B-52′s and B-2′s, wingtip to wingtip, dropping kegs of brewskies down on the savage Taliban and Islamofascists. Perhaps they would lighten up a wee bit, sing Kumbaya, and stagger home to their caves.
Nor do you, so I guess we’re even.
I understand just fine.
I also have a 3 year old niece who considers herself a magic choo choo train.
Wow, I decided to take the summer off of the news, but this story really shook me. I cannot believe McChrystal did this on purpose. He was conned by some punk reporter, (that in itself is bad enough for a warrior professional), but I imagine this man has no idea what or who Rolling Stone is. If only an aide had said, sir its a hippie magazine, then he would have known what he was up against.
I don’t feel sorry for him though, McChrystal is well able to handle anything thrown at him, unlike the boy-king who is crying because he was talked badly about (again). Obama is such an inexperienced fool and everyone who advises him is the same. Hussein should have said, I am sorry that one of my generals feels this way about my administration, I assure everyone that we are dedicated to winning, so therefore I will ask that my general continue his job to the best of his abilities and I remind him of his duty according to the UCMJ.
Hussein woulda been the bigger man then, but no….he is such a joke, he has never been crossed, he has no idea how to win an oral disagreement and obviously how to win public support when real time matters. What an a$$hat. Hey Hussein, BOO-HOO-HOO…crybaby!
Rolling Stone like National Lampoon, lost any ‘edge’ it may have had around 1980.
I cannot fathom why he spoke to that rag.