Posted on 05/25/2010 7:42:06 PM PDT by MestaMachine
The best war journalist of our time has been kicked out of Afghanistan...
Let the administration boot Helen Thomas out of her seat in the front of a White House press conference and there would be outrage. Remove Jonathan Karl from the Capitol and media would revolt. Kick Andrea Kremer off Sunday Night Football and there would be pandemonium.
And yet nobody in the media seems to have much of a problem with Michael Yon being removed from the front lines by Obama/General McChrystal. Yon has openly stated the problems in Afghanistan right now and how we could lose this war, unless changes are made. He has been critical of the current rules of engagement that have put our troops in danger and could actually make this war like the Vietnam that the leftist media claimed it was early and often when Bush was president (it’s strange you don’t hear those comparisons from them anymore).
Yon’s reward? He’s lost his embed status, banished to Bangkok. Yon could return but his access might be limited and you can’t just pop in and out of that theater like it’s the neighborhood movie palace. Mess with Yon enough and his resources wear thin, but his patience will not. You will not stop this Marine. He is the ultimate warrior for those who fight and die for this country. His reports are honest, chilling, gripping and are as reflective of the battles they represent as anything I have ever read. But this administration is making it as difficult for him to do his job. You can’t believe this is by accident. The most critical battle in Afghanistan is about to take place, the battle for Kandahar, and the voice of the American soldier is not allowed in.
(Excerpt) Read more at bigjournalism.com ...
What can we do besides yell and scream bloddy murder??? If you are PRO-Military and PRO AMERICAN ARMED FORCES, you are considered an enemy of the state.
McChrystal’s first jump out of the box was that the ROE in Afghanistan were too skewed to the PROTECTION OF AMERICAN TROOPS. He has put them at HIGH risk and some of his orders were so insane they had to be rescinded because no one would obey them and the field commanders went nuts on him.
He wanted OUR TROOPS to patrol without body armor to show the Afghans that we “trusted” them, so they should “trust” us. Holy GOD!!! Sending guys on patrol without body armor...and the body count for Americans is higher this year than it was for the whole freaking war!
I thought the TV show 24 was fantasy with peace-at-any-price leaders and Jack Bauer trying to make it right, but reality is catching up today and we are in deep ****.
May the merciful Lord watch over our troops and protect them from enemies both foreign and domestic.
You are wrong. McChrystal is, and has been, responsible for the new ROE. American field commanders and NATO Commanders have been complaining vociferously because he has made them so vulnerable and made life a whole lot tougher for the troops than they ever should be.
The medal for “Courageous Restraint” is a medal that for the most part, should anyone actually win it, will be awarded posthumously.
McChrystal sold his soul for another star. Pure and simple.
Should have said “four days before the weekend we honor our fallen heroes”.
I also shudder to think why. The attacks last week on Kandahar were not an accident. I fear this. They are ready for us. We have telegraphed every move.
Yes. I know that Vermont is not exactly known as a conservative state, but the Vermont National Guard is over there now, including people that we know.
They don’t deserve to get killed because they aren’t allowed to defend themselves. Nor do any of our other troops.
Moreover, it is a basic tenet of just war theory, as well as plain common sense, that you should not get into a war unless you intend to win it.
I know that people hesitate to blame McChrystal for these problems, but he is the guy who is responsible—and apparently deliberately so.
Huh? I heard him on Lars Larsen yesterday. He said nothing about being banned in Afghanistan. Said he was going back real soon.
There is no honor in what eithe McChrystal OR obama have done. I swear to GOD that McChrystal is straight out of the Caine Mutiny...more worried about his strawberries than our Troops in harm;s way. I have a dog in this fight. YOU know, but I am telling you, I will not shut up. People need to know what kind of men are leading our military into self-destruct. Suicides up. This is so wrong on so many levels....
His silence on Pat Tillman speaks volumes. Bush passed him over for promotion. There is a REASON why he was passed over. That reason and McChrystal’s bitterness over it has been exploited by this _resident.
That’s the sense I get, too.
Last Feb or so a guy laid it out to Rush that many birds aren’t in it for victory, just Clinton obstructionist layovers. It scared me.
I wonder why he never mentioned that to Lars. I know he had some run ins with the brass in Iraq a couple times.
I knew McChrystal was a pansy when he banished Popeyes. No, really!!
It appears he is not a “soldier’s general” and that he is content with telling the Supreme Leader what he wants to hear. Not good.
Yon’s reporting in Bangkok has been a total joke. He keep parroting government propaganda and doesn’t even have a basic understanding of the dynamics. Given the horrible quality of his reporting here in Thailand, it makes me question his reporting from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Seems to me the military commander should have final say on who and whether outsiders are imbedded with troops, regardless of their popularity with folks back home. The military is not a democracy.
They are too busy covering up the sexual harrassment and career busting going on at ABC News. Read the reader comments at the link to see what's really been going on inside ABC News.
ABC News can report on the SEC watching porn while Wall Street collapses, but what about the maliciousness and clique-building that destroyed careers at ABC?
-PJ
Thailand has nothing to do with American soldiers. It is not his usual base of operations. He is in there cold and the timing is suspect, to say the least.
It isn’t so much his popularity back home they despise. It is his popularity and the trust he receives from the troops in the field who want to be heard. It is the truth. THAT is the point.
~~Action ping.. Yon is THE best on the frontlines,
reporting the truth.
Yon ex-communicated from the Theatre.
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