If critics of President Obama ever doubted his mettle, those doubts were unmistakably put to rest yesterday afternoon.
On Wednesday, President Obama fired Four Star Gen. Stanley McChrystal from his post as Commander of U.S. Troops in Afghanistan, for insubordinate and rude comments made during a ROLLING STONES Magazine interview. Many political pundits originally thought removing McChrystal at this most sensitive juncture in the military conflict would be a difficult and unnecessary distraction. But now many of those same analysts are praising the president for his incredible display of strength and conviction.
McChrystal’s dumb rude comments regarding President Obama, Vice-President Biden, and other senior members of the White House Intelligence team tied Mr. Obama’s hands, and would have made him appear weak both at home and abroad if he hadn’t acted swiftly to remove the general. But McChrystal had burned such a bridge with his boss, that the president did not even allow him to return to Afghanistan to retrieve his belongings. He was fired on the spot and the president told him that someone would pack up his things in Afghanistan and return them to him. There was no need for him to continue.
During the reportedly 32 minute meeting in the Oval Office, Mr. Obama heard McChrystal’s explanation and apology, but in the end thought his conduct was unbecoming and counterproductive to what is expected of a Four Star General. So the president relieved McChrystal of his duties, effective immediately, while sending a strong message to other members of his national security team that debate is welcomed, but division will not be tolerated. “This is a change in personnel but it is not a change in policy,” Mr. Obama said. “War is bigger than any one man or woman, whether a private, a general, or a president.”
So McChrystal’s previously stellar military career is now effectively over. Gen. David Petreus, who was McChrystal’s boss and had lead the troops in Iraq, was appointed by the president as the new Afghan Commander. Military analysts are already praising the appointment of Gen. Petreus and expect an extremely smooth transition.
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DJ“Many political pundits originally thought removing McChrystal at this most sensitive juncture in the military conflict would be a difficult and unnecessary distraction. But now many of those same analysts are praising the president for his incredible display of strength and conviction.”LOL! Which is why I consider 99.99% of what comes out of their mouths IDIOT-babblings to be totally IGNORED, particularly when it comes to what “THIS” or “THAT” would mean for Our current President_smh. Anyway. The President handled this entire spectacle with his usual, style and grace. And now, quite frankly, I think the attention will quickly shift to the ACTUAL issue of concern related to McChrystal’s “frustration” with the President and his administration: THE WAR. More specifically, the foreign policy surrounding the "COIN” strategy in Afghanistan and the path the President plans to take going forward. Peter Beinart @ The Daily Beast has a great article on this today: “Gen. McChrystal's Firing Offense” Excerpts: It’s not the insubordination, stupid. It’s the war.For close to a year now, it’s been painfully clear that McChrystal, with the backing of David Petraeus and the rest of the top military brass, wants America to make an unlimited commitment to the Afghan war. Counterinsurgency, they believe, works; all it requires is an UNlimited amount of money and time. As Jonathan Alter details in his book, The Promise, McChrystal and company spent last summer waging a media and bureaucratic campaign aimed at forcing Obama to make that unlimited commitment. Obama resisted, insisting on a timeline for beginning America’s withdrawal. But the fight goes on. In his book, Alter quotes Biden as pledging that “In July of 2011, you’re going to see a whole lot of people moving out. Bet on it.” Confronted with that quote last weekend, Robert Gates shot Biden down, declaring that “that absolutely has not been decided.” Obama’s problem isn’t that McChrystal is talking smack about him. His problem is that McChrystal ISN'T pursuing his foreign policy. McChrystal wants to “win” the war in Afghanistan (whatever that means) no matter what it takes. Obama believes that doing whatever it takes will cost the U.S. so much money, and so distract the administration from other concerns, that it will cripple his efforts to stabilize America’s finances and rebuild American economic power. That’s the struggle that Hastings exposes: between a single-minded general who will stop at nothing to fulfill his mission and a president who believes that even if that mission saves Afghanistan, it could bankrupt the United States. It’s a struggle about whether America is going to adjust to the new limits on its power or PRETEND that they don’t exist. Full Read: <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-06-23/general-mcchrystal-failing-to-follow-obamas-afghan-policy/http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/20… />It really IS worth taking a few minutes to read the entire article!
Andrew Sullivan:“In that sense, McChrystal's self-immolation is a big opportunity for the president. He needs to restate his commitment to a limited war that begins to wind down next year. He gave the COIN version of neo-imperialism its best shot and it shot itself in the foot. Now: leave.”http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2010/06/the-macarthur-analogy.htmlHear! Hear!
President Obama did the right thing. He had to removed the General or risk disrespect to the presidency by military personell. Dare I say this episode may have helped his image.
I said it yesterday and I'll say it again. McChrystal had to go. No ifs, and, or buts about it. You can't publicly diss your boss and his entire team then expect everything to be ok. Good riddance. Obama laid down the law and now has everybody shaking in their boots for their jobs. Let that be a lesson. LOL
Fri. June 25, 2010And without skipping a beat, the President, and Dems, continue “getting sh*t done.” Reuters: "Lawmakers Agree On Historic Wall Street Reform at Dawn"[WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Lawmakers hammered out a historic overhaul of financial regulations as dawn broke over the nation's capital on Friday, handing President Barack Obama a major domestic victory on the eve of a global summit devoted to financial reform. In a marathon session of more than 21 hours, legislators agreed to a rewrite of Wall Street rules that will crimp the industry's profits and saddle it with tougher oversight and tighter restrictions.The reform must still win final approval from both chambers of Congress before Obama can sign it into law, giving Wall Street one final chance to deploy its army of lobbyists on Capitol Hill. Quick approval is expected and the reform could go to Obama for his signature by July 4. The bill has actually gotten tougher in its yearlong journey through the halls of Congress. Democrats rode a wave of public disgust at an industry that awarded itself rich paydays while much of the country struggled through a deep recession caused by its actions.]Hat-tip: PoliticoSEE: “What's In the Bill” http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/25/news/economy/whats_in_the_reform_bill/In OTHER totally unrelated news:Here we go again…. Advocate.com: “Gay Mag Outs Antigay Pastor”[Lavender Magazine, a Minneapolis-based gay publication, has outed a Lutheran pastor critical of gay clergy after reporter John Townsend found the pastor, Rev. Tom Brock, at a confidential Catholic meeting for gay men struggling with chastity.Brock is known for his denunciation of homosexuality, Townsend reported. His church, Hope Lutheran in Minneapolis, left the Evangelical Church in America last year as it liberalized its policy over gay clergy, and Brock has railed against ECLA’s decision to welcome partnered (and presumably sexually active) gay ministers.]Hat-tip: MinnPost.com Happy TGIF everybody!