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McChrystal vs Obama - "The Runaway General" article in Rolling Stone magazine
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For anyone not up on this story, Gen. McChrystal has been recalled to D.C. because of a satirical article in Rolling Stone in which a journalist recorded McChrystal with his friends poking fun at the incompetence of several politicians in the current White House administration, their indecision, polticking, etc. There's talk that Obama may fire him for insubordination, but there's also talk that Obama won't wanna deal with the PR that'll result from the fallout.
EDIT - found the actual article - I guess Rolling Stone finally made it available online: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/17390/119236
EDIT - found the actual article - I guess Rolling Stone finally made it available online: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/17390/119236
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There has been a lot of talk about what McChrystal was thinking when he allowed Rolling Stone that much access. I would argue that the general knew exactly what he was doing. I think that he wanted to air his grievances with the administration in the most public way possible before he hit the exit.
It's the same as anywhere else. No one here that's ever worked under another person will ever say that they've been pissed off or pissed on by their boss. And guess what? The president (whether we think he's a $hitbag or a saint) is his boss.
Don't get me wrong though, all I'm saying is it's understandable. However, all military service members are taught that they are never to voice their personal political opinion in uniform (ESPECIALLY not in public or in front of media). He should have been more careful because now, he's getting a lot of publicity and his statements may affect the morale of a lot of soldiers. When you put it in perspective, it's just a guy complaining about his boss (like the rest of us sometimes). Only thing is, he did it in the wrong place, wrong time, and wrong uniform.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2012183541_apusobamamcchrystal.html
Dude was a genius.
the theory is that someone high up in the pentagon and under Obama's direct command, had to approve the reporter being there. knowing that McChrystal was a talker he would get something that would allow a scene to be caused to take attention away from a host of other issues that are causing controversy in the white house. these issues may/may not include:
the oil spill
supreme court appointments
cap-and-trade
the negatives that are coming out about the health care bill
the Economy stagnation
Unemployment sticking around 10%
i have a hard time believing this though.
He knew what he was doing, and he did it with a more noble purpose.
If the good General was facing policies & restrictions that made accomplishing his mission impossible, or was going to end up costing the country exponentially more than it should have (either in $$$'s or US servicemen's lives), and there was no way he could fix the problem within the chain of command (which the quotes in his article seemed to indicate to me)... well, whats the solution?
I think perhaps the General believed the answer was to put the whole situation under the magnifying glass in as loud a manner as possible. He knew his @ss was going to be in a sling, but perhaps he thought the attention this would garner from the American public would force the powers-that-be to make changes in policy & support military strategy that they were otherwise unwilling to - unless political heat was brought to bear against them.
I think that perhaps our good General looked at the problem he was facing from all angles & decided that the what the action would cost, up to and including the end of his career, was worth the benefit in lives perserved and / or dollars saved. What are 4 shiny stars on a man's shoulder versus avoiding the thousands of deaths and casualties we suffered in Iraq happening again in Afghanistan due to political blundering?
You dont attain the rank this man held by being stupid by any definition. He knew what he was doing, and he knew the cost. He had to have a reason.
If Im right about what that reason was, this man is a hero, pure & simple.