Why is it unfair to compare McChrystal with Westmoreland? IMHO, the parallels, most notably the continual calls for more and more troops, are remarkably close. The main difference is the McChystal main claim to distinction before this was covering up details of the Pat Tillman killing. For some strange reason, McChystal is treated almost as a deity here.....when the truth is that he is just another general who wants more troops. He already got thousands at the beginning of Obama's term and now he comes back again!
BTW, I loved you in Merrill's Marauders. Now there was a general!
General Westmoreland along with President Lyndon B. Johnson, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Earl Wheeler thought that search-and-destroy and large scale engagements would have the positive results that they had in WWII and Korea- victory through attrition. They resisted the advice of counter-insurgency expert Robert Thompson and that of the Marine Commander General David M. Shoup.
General McChrystal understands the need to fit the strategy to the circumstances. In Afghanistan, he is implementing a counter-insurgency strategy, which requires higher troop levels than are presently deployed. Insinuating that he is “just another general who wants more troop” is a statement ignorant of the man and his expertise.
And before you state that “McChystal(s) main claim to distinction before this was covering up details of the Pat Tillman killing.”, I suggest that you research this man’s military record.
Your comments remind me of the kind of crap I’ve been hearing about the military from leftist scum for the past four decades. It would be more appropriate at the DK or DU websites.