Posted on 06/21/2010 11:11:11 PM PDT by Jet Jaguar
The top U.S. war commander in Afghanistan apologized Tuesday for an interview in which he said he felt betrayed by the man the White House chose to be his diplomatic partner, Ambassador Karl Eikenberry. An article out this week in Rolling Stone magazine depicts Gen. Stanley McChrystal as a lone wolf on the outs with many important figures in the Obama administration and unable to convince even some of his own soldiers that his strategy can win the war.
A band of McChrystal's profane, irreverent aides are quoted mocking Vice President Joe Biden and Richard Holbrooke, the special U.S. representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
On Tuesday, McChrystal issued a statement saying: "I extend my sincerest apology for this profile. It was a mistake reflecting poor judgment and should never have happened."
In Rolling Stone, McChrystal is described by an aide as "disappointed" in his first Oval Office meeting with an unprepared President Barack Obama. The article says that although McChrystal voted for Obama, the two failed to connect from the start. Obama called McChrystal on the carpet last fall for speaking too bluntly about his desire for more troops.
"I found that time painful," McChrystal said in the article, on newsstands Friday. "I was selling an unsellable position."
Obama agreed to dispatch an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan only after months of study that many in the military found frustrating. And the White House's troop commitment was coupled with a pledge to begin bringing them home in July 2011, in what counterinsurgency strategists advising McChrystal regarded as an arbitrary deadline.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
Agreed, but perhaps not for the same reasons.
McCrystal is obviously not suited for the job and his moronic ROE's are responsible for the unnecessary casualties of our brave Warriors.
Appears to be simply another Liberal moonbat (who may or may not have political aspirations) in the same vein as Far Left Extremist, "Weasel" Clark.
As a Nam Vet, I'm very, very, close to joining the ranks of those who think this debacle (Afghanistan)--in which NO ONE has any interest or will to "win,"--is rapidly approaching the point whereby the lost of any more of our Troops is unacceptable and too high a price to pay for what appears to be where we are headed, another bug out next year and no end game in sight.
The barbarians will simply revert back to where they were 10 years ago and all of this effort (and terrible sacrifice) will have been for naught.
Worse, in the years to come, most of the vets will begin to question (much as we did) whether their efforts and sacrifices were worth it in having fought in a War which from the git go, the leaders had no intention of prosecuting to a successful conclusion--whatever criteria one wants to apply--and thus was an exercise in futility!
HEy.
Obammy has a nice smile.
Are you unfamiliar with the UCMJ?
Art. 88. Contempt toward officials
Any commissioned officer who uses contemptuous words against the President, the Vice President, Congress, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or the Governor or legislature of any State, Territory, Commonwealth, or possession in which he is on duty or present shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
In the US, officers must RESPECTFULLY serve the civilian officials who are appointed over them, whether or not the officer agrees or disagrees with the officials. This does not prevent dissent, but dissent must be expressed respectfully through the chain of command. If McChrystal and his colonels cannot serve in accordance with the UCMJ, they should resign. That is what honorable officers before them have done.
Send McChrystal into that house and earn his “Restraint Medal”.
He will go down in history as a wimp.
Brown Deer: “0bamas a PoS!”
Yes, but officers are legally and morally obligated to serve the civilian officials appointed over them. A lot of officers weren’t thrilled with the Clintoons either, but the vast majority of those officers followed the UCMJ. Civilian control of the military is established by the US Constitution.
Few dare to say that Islam itself is the real enemy , but pretending otherwise cannot possibly result in anything else but failure. Take a look at the Afghanistan constitution. It is explicitly Islamic. We lose before we have even started under such a government.
Obozo’s ROEs are killing our troops. If there are civilians w/in a mile of a firefight you can’t get support. This is liberal suicide for our troops just like Nam.
Pray for Our Troops
obama shud resign..he is an illegal president and a closet muslim.
The officers swore to protect the constitution.
You are absolutely correct.
We have a civilian in charge of our military for good reason.
Wish I could pray for a coup but know in my heart just how dangerous such an event would be for our country.
But then, Honduras comes to mind.
As you can see I am totally conflicted on this situation.
If McChrystal is no longer fit to command, then he belongs right where he is — leading a pointless military campaign and answering to an incompetent, half-@ssed “commander in chief.”
bushpilot1: “The officers swore to protect the constitution.”
Yes. Civilian leadership of the US military is established BY the constitution. That’s where the president’s authority to be commander of the armed forces comes from.
US Constitution, Art II, Section II: “The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States...”
AC: “If McChrystal is no longer fit to command, then he belongs right where he is leading a pointless military campaign and answering to an incompetent, half-@ssed commander in chief.”
Yes, but the military is paying for it in BLOOD.
Carley: “As you can see I am totally conflicted on this situation.”
Me, too. Obama is, unfortunately, our elected CINC. Even as bad as Obama is, I doubt he’ll issue unconstitutional orders to the military. That COULD trigger a military coup some FReepers seem to want, but it’s not something a wise person wishes for.
Civilians who don’t like the fact that the military must respect and obey the CINC need to fire him. It’s not the military’s job to fix civilian mistakes. We voters need to clean up our own mess!
citizenUSA is absolutely correct (says this former O-3).
The sentiments may be absolutely, stunningly, 1000% correct, but wearing the uniform requires relinquishing the right to state them.
True enough, but soldiers - even generals - are not alloowed to say so out loud, and especially not in the media.
It's interesting to note that a LOT of people who turned out to be very instrumental, in a positive way, in American history have been described that way early-on in their career!
I say “Go, General, Go!” If I had to choose between the two of them, the general and the teleprompter reader, I would go with the general. I can't think of a single aspect of life where Obama would be my first choice for help or advice!
I heard a talk radio host the other day use the chant:
We need a LEADER,
NOT a teleprompter READER.
Amen and amen!!
I hate to break this news to you boys, but 0bama is not a “Natural Born” citizen of the United States and therefore nobody has any legal or moral obligations to him.
Obama not a natural born citizen? Perhaps, but McChrystal isn’t refusing to obey Obama’s orders on those grounds. That would be honorable. No, McChrystal and his staff are bringing discredit on the US military by their actions. The military is a PROFESSION. Those who can’t act professional NEED TO GO.
Your opinion seems to agree with a very small minority.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.