Posted on 10/05/2009 8:53:40 PM PDT by Steelfish
U.S. Military Advisors Told To Keep Remarks Private
Comments by Defense Secretary Robert Gates seem aimed at Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who has been speaking out about the need for more troops in Afghanistan.
By Christi Parsons October 5, 2009
Reporting from Washington - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Monday that President Obama's advisors should keep their guidance private, in effect admonishing the top U.S. and allied commander in Afghanistan for publicly advocating a troop-intensive military approach at a time when the White House is considering an overhaul of its strategy.
The comment by Gates came a day after a top White House official, national security advisor James Jones, said military commanders should convey their advice through the chain of command, a sharp reaction to Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal's call in a speech in London last week for a strategy aimed at stabilizing Afghanistan.
The exchanges suggested a certain disarray in the Obama administration attempt to forge a new policy on Afghanistan and underscored the wide differences among top officials over the correct approach after eight years of failed efforts.
The controversy centered on McChrystal, a special forces commander tapped by Obama to take charge of the Afghanistan effort in June to institute a sweeping counterinsurgency strategy. Obama and McChrystal spoke Friday aboard Air Force One on an airport tarmac in Copenhagen, and White House officials did not detail what the two talked about.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
If they do quit saying what they believe then this country is in far worse condition than I think (regarding the military). They are one of the last bastions of hope for our survival. Please generals - say the truth and don’t back down!
They know what they are doing . O is stalling until he gets his health bill . Once that is signed he will send the troops . He needs red meat for the lefties.
Was there any doubt this would happen? I am surprised it took this long. I would look for more than a few resignations from top echelons of Military leadership in the next month or two.
The bad news is that as with Clinton, we will get a mess of Obama butt kissers in the General ranks. And we will get "hit" again in the not too distant future.
As much as I don't care from Obama, all of this can be laid square at the feet of the American electorate for their uninformed and willingness to be misinformed by both major political parties.
I would disagree. I don’t think they know what they are doing and socialized medicine takes priority over the war. Obama is total fail and his stance on socialism will cost the house.
Why is he waiting? Why? Everyone knows Afghanistan needs more troops. Obama knows that everyone knows! I don’t understand it. He could make this go away very easily...the fringe anti-war left don’t pose a big enough threat to him. Their numbers are too small.
Obama’s been Snorting Coke and Picking his nose and eating it for Months now, While Blood is being spilled because of
an Undefined Mission, Messed up rules of engagement and Not enough weapons carriers. (Troops)
It wouldn’t make any difference if we put in another 50,000
if they are not allowed to fire their weapons.
If the problems in Afghanistan can be solved, It will not happen until the Problems in Pakistan are solved.
Why are we giving Billions to Pakistan when all they do is give shelter to the Bad Guys?
It seems to me we are Funding Both sides of this war.
And Gates is a wishy washy idiot....I guess that’s why he was held over.....
"Jim Jones tells American patriots to shut up!"
The change in U.S. public opinion that is alarming the apparatchiks isn't against the war, it's against 0bama. Jones is turning out to be a massive disappointment in his role as National Security Advisor, Gates is trying to talk out of both sides of his mouth, and the chain of command McChrystal is supposed to go through is mighty short at that level and its apex has spoken to him precisely once in nearly three months. And, to be honest, his speech in London is quite a bit more than 0bama has ever done to relate to a loyal ally who has received nothing but the back of 0bama's hand on repeated occasions.
All McChrystal has to do is retire and 0bama gets this albatross hung around his neck. That's all. And when McChrystal is convinced that the good of his troops demands it, he will.
“He has no policies for national security, the economy, or health care reform.
He is voting present, not as a US Senator, but as the POTUS.”
But he is bringing hope and change???
It is disgusting.
McChrystal is right on the money about this. He was very well being set up to be a scapegoat for the failure of a plan that wasn’t his. He’s made it very clear what needs to be done to win now and if Obama and Co. decide to disregard his advice, they will have to own their mistakes. On the other hand, if they listen to Jow Biden and take his advice and it pays off, they can have all the glory. I think they know better though.
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I’ve heard from a reliable source that this general is crafty, smart and a great American...so hoping his assessment was right on. Beta Bambi should have trouble with this one! Pray for him and our troops!
"They are in front of us, behind us, and we are flanked on both sides by an enemy that outnumbers us 29:1. They can't get away from us now!" - Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, USMC When the Marines were cut off behind enemy lines and the Army had written the 1st Marine Division off as being lost because they were surrounded by 22 enemy divisions. The Marines made it out inflicting the highest casualty ratio on an enemy in history and destroying 7 entire enemy divisions in the process. An enemy division is 16500+ men while a Marine division is 12500 men.
As Quinn would say, this is the fallacy of the false middle. Neither strategy will work. McChrystal is turning the Afghanistan population off huge.
But at LEAST he is ONE, count them, ONE General who is standing up to the djinn publicly, and for all that I disagree with what HIS strategy is, we have learned an enormous amount of information from his outspokeness.
We MUST NOT let our Troops down. It is unthinkable.
Personally, I like his strategy. I like Biden’s idea too. I think the two ideas would compliment one another well actually and I believe any significant demonstration of our unwavering resolve would go a long ways towards maintaining popular support. As it is, if they perceive us to be wavering, they will be inclined to switch sides before it is too late.
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