Posted on 06/30/2010 6:09:58 PM PDT by Anselma
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The General and the Community Organizer
By [author’s name withheld by Anselma] June 24, 2010
Channel-surfing from ABC, CBS, NBC, and CNN through MSNBC and Fox News, the inside-the-beltway pundits had a field day trying to get Inside the heads of Barack Obama, Joe Biden, General Stanley McChrystal, and McChrystal's top aides. The one thing common to all Of the analyses, by the most famous and highly-paid talking heads in The Western World, was that they are all wrong. Dead wrong. What is Certain is that they all owe General McChrystal and his senior aides An apology for assuming that they are lame-brained numbskulls.
The facts of the McChrystal case are not in dispute. General McChrystal and his senior officers allowed a reporter for Rolling Stone Magazine, Michael Hastings, to have almost unprecedented access During an extended stay in Paris. The extended stay was due, in part, To an excess of atmospheric ash from Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull Volcano, keeping the McChrystal party grounded for days.
In an interview with CNN, Hastings reported that he had a tape Recorder in his hand most of the time and that McChrystal was "very Aware" that his comments would find their way into print. He said, "McChrystal and his people set no ground rules for their Conversations, although they did ask that some parts of their Conversations were off the record." Hastings subsequently published a Lengthy profile of General McChrystal on June 22, titled, The Runaway General.
As Hastings wrote in his profile, McChrystal thought that Obama looked "uncomfortable and intimidated" by the roomful of military brass During their first meeting. Of their second meeting, an advisor to McChrystal quoted the general as saying that it was "a 10-minute photo op." He went on to say, "Obama clearly didn't know anything about (McChrystal), 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."
As General McChrystal flew from Afghanistan to Washington to face Obama in the Oval Office, the almost unanimous opinion of the talking Heads was that the comments made by McChrystal and his staff were off The cuff and inadvertent. But to believe that is to totally ignore Who these men are.
General McChrystal and his top officers are not simple-minded, knuckle- Dragging brutes. To the contrary, they are intelligent, thoughtful, Highly educated, patriots. Graduates of West Point and other fine Universities. Who are dedicated to duty, honor, and country. To think That such men would be so careless as to speak unflatteringly of Obama, Biden, and other top administration figures, in the presence of a reporter for a notoriously left wing publication, defies logic. At The very least. To think that men who are trained to be careful and Deliberate in everything they do, could do something so Careless and so unguarded is simply beyond comprehension.
I would argue that McChrystal and his aides knew exactly what they Were doing.
From the day that he became the handpicked "spear carrier" for Obama's unique brand of warfare. Playing at being Commander in Chief While playing to his far left constituency. McChrystal's life had been One of constant frustration. After telling Obama exactly how many Troops he needed to carry out his mission, Obama dithered for months Before deciding to give him just half the troops he requested. McChrystal could not have been happy about that.
The Obama team insisted on new Rules of Engagement designed to reduce Collateral damage (civilian casualties). Obama's ROE (Rules of Engagement) Required that U.S. Troops must be able to see the enemy with Weapon in hand before They were allowed to return fire. One videotape circulated on the Internet showed a platoon of Marines pinned down by enemy sniper Fire. But since the enemy was firing from some distance behind the Open window of a building, the Marines could not actually see the Weapon being fired. Although they were taking deadly fire, they were Prohibited by the ROE from putting small arms fire or an RPG Through the window opening.
Under Obama's politically correct ROE, our soldiers and Marines were Required to fight with one hand tied behind their backs. McChrystal Could not have been happy about that.
A strict new interrogation policy, dictated by Attorney General Eric Holder, required that prisoners must be delivered to an Interrogation Center within twenty-four hours of being captured or be released. A Great deal of actionable intelligence was lost as a result and battle- Hardened enemy fighters were returned to the field to kill Americans. McChrystal must have found that to be incomprehensible.
But the greatest insult to our troops in the field, and to the Officers who lead them, may be a new battlefield medal designed by the Obama team. It is called the Courageous Restraint Medal and is awarded to soldiers and Marines who demonstrate uncommon restrain in combat by not firing their weapons even when they feel threatened by the enemy. Would we be surprised to learn that the preponderance of these medals were awarded posthumously? McChrystal must have found that to be an insanity.
I suggest that, having his best military judgments subjected to the White House political sieve for nearly a year and a half, McChrystal decided that he'd had enough. And when he announced to his senior staff that he was prepared to retire they decided to push back to make the most of a bad situation. It was clear that, if McChrystal were to simply take off his uniform and walk away, his retirement would be page-twenty news for a day or two before the mainstream media and the American people forgot all about him.
They had to make the most of his retirement because it provided a one- time opportunity to show the American people, as well as our enemies and our allies, that the man who claims the title of Commander in Chief of the U.S. military does not command the respect of our men and women in uniform. To make the most of that opportunity they had to choose their messenger very carefully.
They knew that, by openly showing their disrespect for Obama in front of just any newsman, they may not attract the attention they desired. Like any astute observer of the MSM, they knew that most reporters would turn on their own mothers if it meant a good story. But they could not take a chance that a mainstream media reporter might suffer a rare pang of conscience when confronted with the prospect of ruining the careers of some of the most senior officers in the War on Terror. They had to fix the odds as much as possible in their favor so they chose to use Michael Hastings and Rolling Stone Magazine.
During the long hours that General McChrystal was in the air between Kabul and Washington, Obama knew that he had just two choices, both bad. He could declare McChrystal to be an irreplaceable asset in the war effort, give him a public reprimand, and send him back to Kabul. Or he could fire McChrystal, sending a clear message that at least in his own mind, he was the Commander in Chief.
In the former case, he was certain to appear weak and ineffectual. A man not totally in charge. In the latter case, he might at least win a few rave reviews from the Kool-Ade drinkers in the mainstream media. He chose the latter of the two options.
But what is now lost in all of the hand-wringing and speculation is the fact that McChrystal and his people have succeeded in doing exactly what they set out to do. They wanted to plant the seed in the minds of the American people that Obama is not up to the task of being Commander in Chief and that he does not command the respect of the men and women of the uniformed services from the newest Private E-1 up to the top four-star generals and admirals.
That seed is now firmly planted and it cannot be unplanted.
From this day forward, no one will have to tell the American people that Stanley McChrystal is a true warrior, a man's man, and that Barack Obama is nothing more than a community organizer. Well done, General!
Did you click on the link? The article was a post on Freerepublic linking to an article in Familysecuritymatters.org.Here is a link to the original:http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.6581/pub_detail.asp
“Why didn’t Petraeus change the ROE a year ago?”
Possible he got over-ridden by Team O, don’t you think? I really don’t know. Good question.
Here is another link that says the ROE were from McChrystalhttp://www.familysecuritymatters.org/blog/
I beleive it was Limbaugh who first brought up the Courageous Restraint Medal, AS A JOKE!
I see this as yet another attempt to give the “General” a pass. He may or may not have been a good Special Operations guy but it is evident he was not an administrator. He did an all access interview to someone else last year that just stunned me with the cameras inside the functioning operations center in theatre. As a former crypto specialist, something rang very wrong with that whole piece.
So he couldn’t do the honorable thing and let everyone know he wasn’t up to the job or the needless lives lost to the man-childs agenda. Maybe when he was seeing he numbers of special deliveries to Dover increase and it got to him. Maybe that fourth star was not worth the mental baggage he had to assume along with it. But in the final analysis only a very small man finds a way to finese an exit while leaving his troops leaderless in battle with a totally rediculous ROE, his or not.
If I’m wrong, I can handle that, but experience tells me otherwise. Better people got fragged for lesser transgressions.
“Sorry but a man with all the intelligence, conviction, and love for his men that you all say he has would just stand up and say this is wrong, his career be damned.”
In essence, that is what McChrystal did, because he was ready to get out of the service, early, without retirement, as he was reported as going to the White House with his resignation in hand, yet he could not have expected to qualify for retirement. I suspect Resident Obama traded with him, gave him an exception to the retirement issue, so that McChrystal would not spill the beans any further. But McChrystal knew that the beans were out (Fred’s Out!). If all this is true, McChrystal has my respect. Our troops have our prayers and our deep gratitude.
Keep your shirt (and pants) on, Gene- no ‘love letter’ here.
Not arguing with you my friend, but I will reserve respect for McChrystal. How dare he negotiate his retirement with his silence at the expense of the truth and our America’s sons! What have we come to? “Fred” is not out! Confusion that covers Obama’s butt is out, once again because there is not a man willing to stand in the gap. It will bring our own nation to war and it should not be. Where are the manly men?
I hope and pray you are right.
If McChrystal did all this on purpose, as a protest of Barry0’s policies, then he deserves no respect. That would be the cowardly way to handle things and 180 degrees opposite the way a good military commander should act.
I think that Patreus had a little sit down with Obama and told him how it was going to be. I believe he warned him that if he didn’t get his way in Afghanistan that Obama would regret it in a big way. I also think that the Military, as a whole, would back Patreus 100%, not matter which way he would go. They have had it with this so called CIC. The Military is tired of this conflict and they want it over with.
The problem Obama has is.....what is he going to do with over 600,000 troops back in the U.S? There are no jobs for them. They can vote when they get home and he knows which way they will vote. I would be surprised if this thing lasted another two years.
ping
Thank you.
“I would be surprised if this thing lasted another two years.”
Good. We will need their skills here at home.
Limbaugh’s ‘Courageous Restraint Medal’!!!!!!!!!! I bet you’re right! It sounded a little over-the-top to me. But it sure sounds like El Rushbo.
Does this mean the rest of the speculation is without merit? I think not.
That episode you mention- cameras inside ops ctr- sounds spooky, I agree. So maybe McChrystal isn’t a genius, nor even, maybe, a decent administrator. Your comments are giving me indigestion- I mean- a lot of food for thought.
I’ve never been in the military, so I don’t feel I can judge McChrystal on his METHOD of exit. I just don’t know enough. Still digesting ...
Your whole outlook on the world changes when someone is shooting at your arshe! Honor and respect takes on a whole new meaning.
Remember when you and your significant other were expecting your first child? Remember how older people would tell you that your life was going to change in ways that you had no way of imagining?
Remember from the day the little package arrived until sometime after they first went to school, you were incapable of reflecting on their comments and then all of a sudden the great revelation hit you like a bullet train?
I’m not at all sure McChrystal did any of this on purpose. Or not much other than tender his resignation for the sake of his men. I suspect the ‘aides’ let it happen and it unfolded from there. And yes, there is an element of McChrystal’s not doing enough to counter the ROE, but, really, what else could he have done, being an officer, not to flirt with Court Martial or gross insubordination or ... whatever they would throw at him for not following ROE? What is 180 degrees from what he did do? What would you have advised him to do?
I don’t expect such. McChrystal most probably made the deal to get the retirement in trade for staying mum. He may have not sought it, going in to the WH, but he came out with it. I think.
My sentiments too. but i’d like to get a clearer idea of who pushed those ROEs.
Honor and respect for the men entrusted to him would have just dictated that he decline the offer and resign once a suitable replacement could be instilled. By making the deal to keep the star we now know he did not fullfill the minimums to keep, says it all.
Remember Patton; (paraphrasing) No poor bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won the war by making the other poor bastard die for his.
I thought that was the gist of your post. My apologies if I misunderstood your intent.
...but, really, what else could he have done, ...?
That is very simple. He could have resigned and told the President, privately, why.
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