Posted on 06/23/2010 4:22:18 PM PDT by Nachum
While the media are attempting to grapple with the change in leadership of the Afghanistan war and what that all means, one thing that could be learned from this, which has been ignored, are valid criticisms of President Barack Obama and his ability to command the U.S. military. Michael Hastings, author of the now-famous Rolling Stone magazine article "Runaway General" that captured several gotcha moments resulting in Obama relieving General Stanley McChrystal of his command, appeared on Al Jazeera English on June 23.. He offered some startling insight into Obama's failure to grasp what he was actually getting into with this Afghanistan strategy known as the counterinsurgency strategy.
Hastings was asked if McChrystal had perhaps gotten the whole strategy wrong, but Hastings explained it was the President that didn't know what he was really getting into.
"I think that ship had sailed last year," Hastings said. "I think once the decision was made to do a counterinsurgency strategy, they had a pretty clear idea in mind what they wanted to do and I think this is quite interesting. I think this is one of the issues Obama didn't really understand what counter-insurgency meant and when the military said they wanted to do a counterinsurgency strategy that that actually meant 150,000 troops. Obama thought he could get away with just sending 21,000 over and getting a new general."
(Excerpt) Read more at newsbusters.org ...
The list, ping
We are screwed.
idiot-in-chief fiddles while Rome burns and the media is stuck on insubordination....never bothering to look further into why that alleged insubordination took place.....
He’s not stupid...he’s intentional.
I’ve never served a day in the military and I understand counterinsurgency strategy way better than Obama. What a mental lightweight.
Correction: We are SO screwed.
Please explain to me why we are still in Afghanistan and Iraq almost a decade after we accomplished our initial mission. Once you have done that please explain to me why we invaded Iraq in the first place.
“Obama thought he could get away with just sending 21,000 over and getting a new general.”
Always trying to do things on the cheap. Obama thought he could achieve health reform for under $950B, but hit his target only by disguising a $2.5T plan in a $950B package. Unlike Afghanistan however, where he has no intention of ponying up the true cost of success in terms of troops needed, I think he knew all along that by the time the true cost of health reform came due (in 2014), he already would be safely ensconced in his second term (or so he thought).
In short, in addition to being inept, he rivals Clinton in his shameless mendacity. He will say whatever he needs to say to ram through his unpopular agenda. And if it takes a lame duck Congress to enact parts of it, so be it. “Legitimacy” doesn’t matter when you have a monopoly on wisdom and the sheeple are too clueless to know what’s good for them.
Buck up, man.
November’s coming.
...and this moron-in-chief is the guy with the nuclear football. God help us all.
Relax, he only holds the launch codes. Not the football.
The Rolling Stone writer learned that the 0-doctrine bites.
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