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McChrystal Balls

President Obama should reprimand his general, but listen to his complaints

June 23 2010
General Stanley McChrystal, commander of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan, has a reputation as the most disciplined soldier of his generation, and one of the brightest. The asceticism of his daily life, to keep himself ready for any threat, is now legendary: an eight-mile run, only one meal and just four hours sleep. It is understandable, then, that yesterday’s revelations stunned Washington — and Kabul.

The general had so far forgotten the cost of careless talk that he had griped about the President and senior White House officials to a freelance reporter from Rolling Stone magazine, and over the course of some days, allowed his aides to do so too.

The most abusive remarks, such as calling General Jim Jones, National Security Adviser, “a clown”, came from unnamed aides. So did a description of the first meeting between President Barack Obama and General McChrystal, at which the general is said to have found the President unprepared and disappointing.

But General McChrystal himself complained that he could not face opening another e-mail from Richard Holbrooke, US special envoy, and that he had felt “betrayed” by a leaked critique of his strategy from Karl Eikenberry, US Ambassador to Afghanistan. He is sharply critical of the President for taking three months last year to decide to send more troops. His tone towards his civilian counterparts is one of exasperation, sometimes contempt.

The overall portrait is devastating: that senior military commanders are mockingly critical of top officials in Washington, and of the President himself. That rings true, from many reports.

Clearly, General McChrystal was guilty of extraordinary folly. There is no virtue in banning Pizza Hut from US bases, as he has done, to keep his soldiers trim and remind them that they are in a war zone, nor in producing 100-page analyses of the enemy, if you cannot spot the threat in giving a magazine access to all your senior officials in informal settings.

But even General McChrystal’s warmest supporters (and there are many) never credited him with skill in public relations. One general close to the President told The Times, with affection, that “Stan McChrystal is probably the best pure soldier that America has produced for years. But he’s been living in a Special Forces bubble for decades, he can’t deal with the media.”

President Obama has summoned General McChrystal to the White House this morning. His spokesman refused last night to confirm that the general’s job was safe. The Commander-in-Chief is fully entitled to give his general a dressing-down, for insubordination and for poor judgment. But it would be a profound mistake to fire him.

General McChrystal, the architect of the “surge” of US troops now reaching its peak, has produced the first coherent Afghan military strategy. That has enabled Nato to put more effort into building alliances, and into encouraging good government. To withdraw him now would be to throw away hard-won gains at a crucial point.

It would also be to dismiss the weight of his criticism. Many of his gripes are legitimate. President Obama took too long to decide on the surge. General Eikenberry was indeed covering his back from criticism. Mr Holbrooke has often behaved like a loose cannon. The White House is not at ease with the military. McChrystal was foolish, and rude, but he was right. President Obama should listen to the wake-up call from Kabul.