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… Read more »