General McChrystal’s Interview – Should He Stay or Should He Go?
Michael Hastings of Rolling Stone did a profile on General Stanley A. McChrystal, which was published online today. McChrystal has clashed with the White House before, but this article details some of his frustrations with the current administration more than was necessary. Here are some of the more memorable quotes:
“‘Who’s he going to dinner with?’ I ask one of his aides.
‘Some French minister,’ the aide tells me. ‘It’s f—ing gay.’“
“Then, unable to help themselves, he and his staff imagine the general dismissing the vice president with a good one-liner.
‘Are you asking about Vice President Biden?’ McChrystal says with a laugh. ‘Who’s that?’
‘Biden?’ suggests a top adviser. ‘Did you say: Bite Me?’“
“Their first one-on-one meeting took place in the Oval Office four months later, after McChrystal got the Afghanistan job, and it didn’t go much better. ‘It was a 10-minute photo op,’ says an adviser to McChrystal. ‘Obama clearly didn’t know anything about him, who he was. Here’s the guy who’s going to run his f—ing war, but he didn’t seem very engaged. The Boss was pretty disappointed.’“
“At one point on his trip to Paris, McChrystal checks his BlackBerry. ‘Oh, not another e-mail from Holbrooke,’ he groans. ‘I don’t even want to open it.’ He clicks on the message and reads the salutation out loud, then stuffs the BlackBerry back in his pocket, not bothering to conceal his annoyance.
‘Make sure you don’t get any of that on your leg,’ an aide jokes, referring to the e-mail.“
Granted, most of the objectionable remarks were from his staff, but he still bears responsibility for them. I have tremendous respect for this man, but by allowing this article to be published with these kinds of remarks, McChrystal has crossed a line, and Obama may need to replace him. “Gen. McChrystal’s just-published interview in Rolling Stone magazine is an appalling violation of norms of civilian-military relations. To read it is to wince, repeatedly… The quotes from Gen. McChrystal’s underlings bespeak a staff so clueless, swaggering and out of control that a wholesale purge looks to be indicated.” – Eliot A. Cohen, Wall Street Journal “While McChrystal’s comments reflect the mounting frustration all around with a war effort seemingly in growing disarray, the dismal context does not excuse what experts almost uniformly deem was an egregious disregard for the democratic principle of military subordination to civilian command.” - Howard LaFranchi of The Christian Science Monitor
The President won’t make up his mind about what to do with McChrystal until after they meet face-to-face. “‘I think it is clear that the article in which he and his team appeared showed poor judgment but I also want to make sure that I talk to him directly before I make a final judgment,’ Mr. Obama said, speaking briefly to reporters at the White House in the afternoon. Whatever decision he makes, he said, would be in line with his central focus of what was best for the country and the war in Afghanistan.” - Helene Cooper and Dexter Filkins of The New York Times I think this is a good move by Obama. At least, it’s exactly what I would do. McChrystal has proven to be invaluable to our success in Afghanistan, but his actions were dangerous and stupid, and his dismissal may be warranted, despite his record. It’s not an easy decision facing Obama, but I’ll stand by his tough choice.
Related: MoveOn – Full Reverse on “General Betray Us”
