Last week, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal formally called it a career, retiring amidst a 17-gun salute, an Army marching band and his own acknowledgment that he was not leaving the military on his own terms. “Look, this has the potential to be an awkward or even a sad occasion,” McChrystal announced to the nearly 500 guests in attendance. “My service did not end as I would have wished.”
President Obama relieved McChrystal as Commander of American and NATO forces in Afghanistan last month after he and his aides made damning remarks against Vice President Biden, National Security Advisor Gen. Jim Jones, and other White House leaders in a Rolling Stones Magazine article. But McChrystal used the solemn retirement occasion to present a moment of levity regarding his circumstances, saying “I have stories on all of you, photos on many. And I know a Rolling Stone reporter.” The crowd of military and personal friends burst into raucous laughter and applause.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates paid homage to McChrystal with some personal remarks, but made no mention of the circumstances that brought about his retirement. “We bid farewell to Stan McChrystal today with pride and sadness,” he said. “Pride for the remarkable roster of achievement that he has compiled as a man and a soldier, sadness that our comrade and his prodigious talents are leaving us.” Secretary Gates seemed to choke up toward the end of his remarks, concluding that General McChrystal was retiring “with the gratitude of the nation he did so much to protect, with the reverence of the troops he led at every level, with his place secure as one of America’s great warriors.”
OK WASSUP! previously reported HERE that since McChrystal only reached the rank of Four Star General just last year, he would have been ineligible to maintain his rank and pension in retirement. That usually carries a requirement of 3 years of service as a Four Star General. But believing the forced retirement was punishment enough, President Obama kindly waived the rule for McChrystal, thereby allowing him to maintain his Four Star ranking, as well as an annual retirement income of $181,416.
DJ:“He was caught bad-mouthing the Prez in a national magazine. Now his career is officially over!”Yes but the COIN strategy he helped design based in large part on Petraeus’s COIN strategy (and then SOLD to Obama) lives on and therein lies a HUGE problem for the President and the military; the strategy is Failing.Look. Contrary to the msm’s parroting the government’s spin, Gen. Petraeus’s COIN strategy did NOT work in Iraq; OTHER key factor$ at play were primarily responsible for tamping down the violence. But don’t take my word for it. Do your own research and then look at deteriorating conditions in Iraq today.By buying into McChrystal COIN strategy the President bought a trillion dollar “bridge to nowhere.” And just like in Iraq, in Afghanistan We’re paying in blood and treasure, with no end in sight.BTW: All of the hype surrounding the recent “WikiLeak” leaks of some 90,000 documents, showing the failures in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2009 contains NOTHING new. But they DO confirm what many of us have already known _the Afghan war is (and has been from the beginning) a military and human travesty of monumental proportions …JUST LIKE IRAQ. To the degree that the leaking of those documents is significant would, IMO, be this: The President and the American military could be facing an even BIGGER problem than the Taliban and other insurgent groups; a kind of "insurgency" (if you will) a proportion of the U.S. military who is FED UP with having to carry out “the mission” (whatever THAT means anymore?) as per directives that actually amount to “by ANY means necessary ” which too often leads to the wholesale slaughter of innocent Afghan civilians and other related kinds of madness, JUST LIKE IRAQ. In short: Those soldiers CAN'T stomach all the brutality, lies and deception of Our government anymore and they want to get the word out to the public. I certainly don’t believe the leaking of all those documents is the work of “one-man.” Now: Whether (or not) the majority of the American public is paying attention? We shall see. This I do know. McChrystal is now gone. Pres. Obama ran on a promise to bring these wars to an end in “responsible” manner. We, who voted for him MUST hold his feet to the fire and insist that he keep his word.