General Stanley McChrystal has transparently revealed himself to be one of the most pernicious 'stay-behinds' in the military. He spoke out publicly about his rather bellicose Afghanistan war assessment before it could even be discussed with the President. He even spoke on foreign soil about it, during a speech in London:
"...decreasing troops would be a short-sighted strategy."
He must be fired for this. However, it is such a transparent breach of military protocol, that I believe it was designed by the neocons to distract from and/or disrupt the passage of a healthcare bill with a strong public option. In fact, the entire Afghanistan issue flare-up over the past couple of weeks is part of this same strategery.
There is historic precedent for canning McChrystal, as when President Truman fired General Douglas MacArthur:
In 1951, President Truman and his advisors were preparing to engage North Korea and China in peace negotiations, in an attempt to resolve the ongoing conflict. General Douglas MacArthur, the commander of the U.N. forces in Korea, issued an unauthorized statement containing a veiled threat to expand the war into China if the Communist side refused to come to terms. When MacArthur continued to support an expansion of the war, communicating directly with a like-minded Republican congressman, Truman, with the backing of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as the Secretaries of State and Defense, felt they had no alternative but to replace MacArthur with a military commander who would act in concert with the administration’s foreign policy. On April 11, 1951, President Truman relieved MacArthur of his command.
http://www.trumanlibrary.org/...
Here's what the current Secretary of Defense had to say about McChrystal's actions:
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates:
"It is imperative that all of us taking part in these deliberations, civilians and military alike, provide our best advice to the president, candidly but privately."
from Agence France Press:
Although Gates did not mention General Stanley McChrystal by name, his remark appeared aimed at the top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan who has made his views on strategy known in media interviews and a high-profile speech in London last week.
link to full article here (h/t puffmeister): http://www.google.com/...
And from current National Security Advisor (a ret. 4-star general!):
National Security Advisor Gen. James Jones on Face The Nation, yesterday (CBS):
"Ideally, it is better for military advice to come up through the chain of command."
POTUS, a.k.a the Commander-in-Chief, is dealing with this perfectly - looks like he put McChrystal 'on notice' or gave him a good talking-to during that Air Force One meeting with him on Friday. Maybe gave him a lesson on how the chain-of-command works. :)
From the Washington Post:
A brief meeting between President Obama and his top general in Afghanistan on Friday offered the commander in chief an opportunity to question directly the dire assessment of the war effort there, officials said.
The previously unannounced meeting between Obama and Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal took place aboard Air Force One after it landed in Copenhagen Friday morning. McChrystal, who had been in London for a speech, was whisked to Denmark at Obama's request, White House aides said.
link to full article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
(h/t puffmeister)
And from the Telegraph:
According to sources close to the administration, Gen McChrystal shocked and angered presidential advisers with the bluntness of a speech given in London last week.
The next day he was summoned to an awkward 25-minute face-to-face meeting on board Air Force One on the tarmac in Copenhagen...
link to full article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/...
I am confident McChrystal won't be at his current position much longer, but glad the current administration sees this episode for what it is: a desperate neocon ploy to fan distracting flames of war into the path of universal healthcare for all Americans. Cheers.