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McChrystal finally got Obama’s attention on Afghanistan

By: Jeff Lukens (Diary)  |  June 24th, 2010 at 06:21 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

Gen. McChrystal should have resigned for the Rolling Stone flap, and Gen. Petraeus was the only guy who could backfill that position. I don’t think anybody disagrees about that. It is interesting that Obama said just two years ago that Petreaus’ plan in Iraq was a “failed policy,” and now he turns to him as his savior in Afghanistan. Jeff Emanual has an interesting blog on this issue on Redstate.

Here is my crazy thought on all this. Obama’s Afghan timeline to exit Afghanistan has got to go to have any chance of success. McChrystal is a smart guy and he knew the war with a timeline was unwinnable. He was unable to convince Obama to change his mind on that, so he staged this Rolling Stone thing to get his attention knowing he would be replaced. McChrystal is a warrior to the core and to him the mission comes first no matter if he has to be the sacrificial lamb. With McChrystal gone, Obama would then be forced to listen to his successor. The fact that Petraeus is now that person makes it nearly impossible for Obama to say no to him when he demands the timeline be dropped. End result, the timeline is removed and we actually have a chance to win that war.

I hear McChrystal will stay in the Army. If this is true, I’ll bet we will be seeing more from him in the future.

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  • 6eorge Jetson

    because they are too stupid to recognize the most obvious course of action?

    • Flagstaff

      Obama wouldn’t have had a clue for Plan B if Petraus had told him to take a hike (which he would never do under these circumstances).

      I doubt that Obie could even name another general.

      • http://www.examiner.com/x-1597-Charlotte-Law--Politics-Examiner Mike gamecock DeVine

        did this out of frustration knowing he hasn’t enough troops to win and that the deadline for pullout makes victory impossible and that he hoped getting fired would cause Obama to change policy or if he was reckless given the timing and his indispensibility.

        If the former, then he simply should have resigned over policy outright and if the latter, then his action hurts the country.

        • Flagstaff

          would choose this method to resign his post, and I doubt that he was reckless. Maybe naive, maybe inattentive, maybe a feeling of omnipotence. We don’t know what the circumstances were when the general was given the chance to censor the story, if indeed he was.

          I think this was “just one of those things.” They do happen. My guess is that McChrystal was the most surprised guy on the planet when the storm erupted, or maybe even when he read the published story.

          • http://www.examiner.com/x-1597-Charlotte-Law--Politics-Examiner Mike gamecock DeVine
          • Flagstaff

            I’ll accept that kind of support. (^;*) Check out paragraph #5.

            5) I think we finally understand what McChrystal and his staff were up to: they are terribly naive and bedazzled by a sort of Gonzo-wannabe reporter who, they hoped, would do a weird Zen-like hagiography on their boss, perhaps confirming their image of him as an against-the-grain warrior-philosopher not fully appreciated either in or out of the military, the ultimate antithesis to a Gen. Jim Jones or Gen. Eikenberry.

            The rest of the PajamasMedia article puts it in perspective.

  • coolhand

    George Will calls McC a fool and Afghanistan a fool’s errand.

    McC is who he is and that is a warrior. The political skills the commander in Afghanistan should possess are not who he is. McC is suited for killing bad guys and not kissing up with State Dept types. Basically, he is not suited for the job he was given. Blame that on Obama.

    There is a military need for the McC types. He is a modern day George Patton. When the stuff hits the fan, he is the guy to go to to win the war. When you need a diplomat, you go to someone else.

    Maybe Afghanistan is a fool’s errand, but I am not sure we want the place to go back to where it was pre-9/11. It is a debate we need to have.

  • izoneguy

    MCCHRYSTAL?S ATTACK HURTS OBAMA?S LEFT WING BASE

    http://www.dickmorris.com/blog/2010/06/23/mcchrystals-attack-hurts-obamas-left-wing-base/

    This is what I have been telling people….

    McChrystal’s attack was deliberate and using Rolling Stone was a trojan horse to get the message to the left wing base. It worked.

    So the MSM spinning this as careless & wreckless on McChrystal’s
    part is just adding fuel to the fire and shows the extent that they will go to – to run diversions for Obama.

    McChrystal knew exactly what he was doing.

  • OccamsRazor

    A Real Leader.

    From the gut, McChrystal is the the type of guy who would walk through the minefield first to finds the safe spots.

  • coolhand

    I agree this whole thing will hurt the left wing base for Obama.

    I read the RS article and did not find anything that McC said that was derogatory against the Pres, VP or anyone in his chain of command. He did show some sarcasm against a State Dept official, but that is not a punishable offense or out of the ordinary. One anonymous aide mocked Biden calling him ?Bite Me.? That was wrong and maybe that individual should be identified and punished, but you can?t hold that against McC. This whole thing looks like an overreaction to me by the Executive Branch.

  • http://www.examiner.com/x-1597-Charlotte-Law--Politics-Examiner Mike gamecock DeVine

    at such a crucial time in the war and further given his indispensibility, wasn’t McChrystal putting his own vanity ahead of the mission, since he had to know that he would be fired?

  • http://www.examiner.com/x-1597-Charlotte-Law--Politics-Examiner Mike gamecock DeVine