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October 15, 2009, 4:00 a.m. Advisers, Not AdvocatesThe militaryÂ’s proper role in U.S. policymaking. By Mackubin Thomas Owens Americans have been aware of significant civil-military tensions since the early years of the Clinton administration. Although such tensions are not unprecedented, they have produced concerns about the health of civil-military relations. Most of the most highly publicized disputes between the uniformed military and the Clinton administration reflected cultural tensions between the military as an institution and liberal civilian society, mostly having to do with women in combat and open homosexuals in the military. But there were also attempts by the...

Every British officer I talk with asks what in the world happened with General McKiernan, and why was his relief performed so publicly. I do not know. And I do not personally know General McKiernan. I do know that these ears have never heard someone speak a foul word about him, and I talk with lots of interesting people. If he, McKiernan, was a bad general I would have heard about it. However, General McKiernan did make some statements about additional troops to Afghanistan, and when he made those statements I remember thinking, “He’s going to get fired.” And so...

It seems harsh to suggest the Pentagon top brass don't know what they're doing. But those who care to read the transcript of the press conference at which the sacking of the top American general in Afghanistan was announced may find that conclusion hard to resist. "In some ways we're learning as we go here," said Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs. It was not a reassuring admission. The public defenestration of General David McKiernan, a distinguished career officer who took command in Kabul less than one year ago, was brutal in that cold, callous way peculiar to...

The Pentagon will replace its top general in Afghanistan as President Barack Obama tries to turn around a stalemated war, defense officials said. The exit of Gen. David McKiernan comes as more than 21,000 additional U.S. forces begin to arrive in Afghanistan, dispatched by Obama to confront the Taliban more forcefully this spring and summer. McKiernan, on the job about a year, has asked repeatedly for additional forces. Obama’s revamped strategy for Afghanistan does markedly increase the number of U.S. forces in the country but focuses on nonmilitary solutions as a better long-term solution. Military officials who spoke on condition...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 19, 2009 – The commander of NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan said yesterday that while he’s pleased with President Barack Obama’s authorization to send 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan, tough times are ahead. Army Gen. David D. McKiernan, commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces Afghanistan, delivers an update briefing at a Feb. 18, 2009, Pentagon news conference. DoD photo by R.D. Ward  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Army Gen. David D. McKiernan, commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces Afghanistan, said at a Pentagon news conference that the...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Even with an additional 17,000 troops in Afghanistan, the top US commander there predicted "a tough year" in 2009 and warned that the situation would not be quickly turned around. General David McKiernan, who commands US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, spoke a day after President Barack Obama approved the deployment in the coming months of two additional combat brigades and support forces, about 17,000 troops in all. "Even with these additional forces, I have to tell you, 2009 is going to be a tough year," McKiernan told reporters at the Pentagon. "There are the baseline problems...

CAMP EGGERS, Afghanistan, Sept. 16, 2008 – NATO’s International Security Assistance Force, U.S. troops and Afghan security forces are in a tough fight in Afghanistan, but Army Gen. David D. McKiernan is convinced the people of the country do not want extremists back in power. McKiernan, commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan and nominee to be commander of U.S. Forces Afghanistan, said the people do not want the Taliban ruling. “They don’t want a radical form of government in power, but it’s still going to take a while to defeat this insurgency,” he said during an interview with reporters traveling...

U.S. President George W. Bush has nominated U.S. Army General David McKiernan as commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, the Defense Department said. McKiernan is currently the commanding general of the U.S. Army in Europe. NATO leads the 40,000-strong ISAF, including troops from 26 NATO nations, to patrol Afghanistan, which has been in the grips of a stubborn insurgency of Taliban militants following the U.S.-led invasion of 2001. Most of the 26,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan are part of ISAF.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- May 18, 2003 Bored With Baghdad — Already By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN AGHDAD, Iraq Last Wednesday two top U.S. generals in Iraq held a news conference in Baghdad's half-wrecked convention center. The subject was deteriorating security and the two officers, Lt. Gen. David McKiernan and Maj. Gen. Buford Blount III, were pummeled by the press about why they weren't doing more to make Baghdad safer. It was 102 degrees, and in the middle of the session all the lights went out. The two generals looked like they were enjoying this encounter about as much as a root canal. At...

No weapons detected at 80 sites on top 100 list Thursday, April 24, 2003 BY PAULINE JELINEK ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON -- American forces are changing their search strategy after coming up empty at most of the top suspected weapons sites in Iraq, officials said yesterday. And the White House appeared to be trying to scale back expectations that weapons of mass destruction will be found. Troops on the ground have searched more than 80 sites that prewar U.S. intelligence judged the most likely hiding places for chemical and biological weapons as well as evidence of an Iraqi nuclear program, Defense...