As a father of a soldier serving with special forces in Afghanistan, here is what I think. If McCrystall really has a problem with the ROE, if they really were not his rules (he has been quoted several times in various publications saying they were necessary), if he really thinks Obama is dangerous to his men, if he really loves his troops, if he is really a patriot, if he is really a man he would just go the cameras and warn the American people by speaking clearly instead of this charade with a liberal rag. 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. Our sons lives are shown to be nothing but cheap resources while the General plays his game.
“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.
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. Our sons lives are shown to be nothing but cheap resources while the General plays his game.
Exactly.
that is how a man of honor would do it. I had been praying - as the grandmother who raised a soldier who is in his second deployment in a unit that is "the point of the spear" , I had been praying that McCrystal AND other officers - even Petreaus - would stand up together and expose these traitorous ROE's for what they are. If they had all gone, in a block, to DC and said they would all publicly stand against these rules - what could obummer do? One, he could fire them all, which he wouldn't dare do.
He would never have dared risk the fire storm of having a block of top officers - from MULLEN on down - publically threatening to retire en masse and exploding the issue for all the world to see.
I wonder if they had presented him, quietly, with the choice of rescinding the ROE or having a public fight he would not win, if he wouldn't have backed down.
I doubt even his blind narcissism would have held up to that.