General McChrystal has stepped on the old McArthur Land Mine. His ego apparently got bigger than his brain. He ran his mouth when and where he shouldn’t have.
General McChrystal has been called home for an apparent trip to the woodshed with his Commander-in-Chief, President Obama. Why is McChrystal getting an ass whupping? He has been increasingly outspoken against the current administration. There is an interview in Rolling Stone Magazine that the administration simply cannot ignore. The article is not yet available. Many say his remarks border on violating military law.
According to the Washington Post:
KABUL — The top U.S. general in Afghanistan was summoned to Washington for a White House meeting after apologizing Tuesday for flippant and dismissive remarks about top Obama administration officials involved in Afghanistan policy.
The remarks in an article in this week’s in Rolling Stone magazine are certain to increase tension between the White House and Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal.
The profile of McChrystal, , titled the “Runaway General,” also raises fresh questions about the judgment and leadership style of the commander Obama appointed last year in an effort to turn around a worsening conflict.
McChrystal and some of his senior advisors are quoted criticizing top administration officials, at times in starkly derisive terms. An anonymous McChrystal aide is quoted calling national security adviser James Jones a “clown,” who remains “stuck in 1985.”
Referring to Richard Holbrooke, Obama’s senior envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, one McChrystal aide is quoted saying: “The Boss says he’s like a wounded animal. Holbrooke keeps hearing rumors that he’s going to get fired, so that makes him dangerous.”
On one occasion, McChrystal appears to react with exasperation when he receives an e-mail from Holbrooke, saying, “Oh, not another e-mail from Holbrooke. I don’t even want to read it.”
U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry, a retired three-star general, isn’t spared. Referring to a leaked cable from Eikenberry that expressed concerns about the trustworthiness of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, McChrystal is quoted as having said: “Here’s one that covers his flank for the history books. Now if we fail, they can say, ‘I told you so.'”
Not good, McChrystal, not good. Remember General McArthur? Harry Truman? Don’t (%$^&*) with the Big Dog.
McChrystal also took a few swipes at the VP (WaPo):
The story also features an exchange in which McChrystal and some of his aides appear to mock Vice President Biden, who opposed McChrystal’s troop surge recommendation last year and instead urged instead for a more focused emphasis on counter-terrorism operations.
“Are you asking me about Vice President Biden?” McChrystal asks the profile’s reporter a at one point, laughing. “Who’s that?”
“Biden?” an unnamed aide is quoted as saying. “Did you say Bite me?”
Not wanting to leave any stones unturned, McChrystal also criticized the French and one of his aids made a gay remark or two. There is no such thing as free speech in the military. It is also against the code of military justice to criticize one’s superiors publically, especially the high profiled ones like the Commander-in-Chief.
Will McChrystal be fired? Will he have a new desk job in Tampa? He is a very popular general with great troop support. This puts the administration in a very tenuous position. who will blink first. Is anyone taking bets?
