Free Republic

MR. GREGORY: Did the president do the right thing? SEN. McCAIN: Yes, he did, and he took the appropriate steps, in my view. I would like to say, in General McChrystal's behalf, that he played a key role in Iraq in the efforts against al-Qaeda. A lot of this is not known and will--may never be known. But General McChrystal did a great job there. The president took appropriate action, and we wish General McChrystal well in the future. ... SEN. McCAIN: First of all, there's no excuse for it, OK? There's no excuse for it. But part of it,...

THE top US military commander in Afghanistan has been effectively rebuked by President Barack Obama's man in the Pentagon for running a public campaign to back his request for more troops. Defence Secretary Robert Gates yesterday spoke out just days after General Stanley McChrystal declared any scaling back of operations in Afghanistan, such as that favoured by some White House officials, would be short-sighted. In a speech to the Association of the US Army, Dr Gates urged advisers to Mr Obama to keep their views on the deteriorating allied position in Afghanistan behind closed doors. "In this process, it is...

We have not yet reached a Harry Truman v Douglas MacArthur moment in Washington — the extraordinary day in April 1951 when the US President fired his top general for disagreeing with him on his Korean War policy. Yet this much is now clear: a potential battle now looms between Barack Obama and his top generals over Afghanistan that could define, even destroy, his presidency. After only nine months as Commander-in-Chief, President Obama has reached a critical point in determining whether to order a surge of additional troops into Afghanistan. It is a strategy that is being demanded by General...

The New York Times reports on the conflicting advice President Obama is getting on Afghanistan, as he considers whether to go along with commanding general Stanley McChrystal's request for more troops. The Times story is interesting, since it is based on either 1) a dozen or more separate leaks from pretty much every member of Obama's security team and others, or 2) a comprehensive leak from someone in the White House who, in effect, wanted to plant a story in the newspaper. The more likely alternative is the second. The White House wants people to know that many advisers oppose...