McChrystal Imbroglio Could Strengthen Anti-War Headwinds

[babylonsister]

Obama's Real McChrystal Problem: Afghanistan Plan in Trouble

by Glenn Thrush


Gen. Stanley McChrystal's MacArthur Moment was more than an embarrassment for the White House - it was a reminder of just how badly Barack Obama's "good war" in Afghanistan is going.

The challenge facing Obama in responding to his loose-lipped Afghan commander has an obvious parallel in Harry Truman's firing of Douglas MacArthur at the height of the Korean War.

But it may actually be more comparable to a more chronic presidential leadership crisis - Abraham Lincoln's dilemma during the Civil War, when he was forced to repeatedly reshuffle his general staff in the face of vacillating public opinion, insubordination and, above all else, uncertainty about how best to win a bloody war he couldn't afford to lose.

"Afghanistan is a mess, and it's getting worse. To make matters worse, the president's been dealing with internal squabbling on this for some time," says Steve Clemons, a senior fellow at the New America Foundation, a nonpartisan Washington think tank, who has written extensively on Afghanistan.

"If there's a bright side to all this, it's that the president has an opportunity to reattach himself to a new policy, fire this guy and start with something new," Clemons added. "It's a tremendous opportunity to reset. But he can't do anything until he fires McChrystal."

more...

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/06/22-15

[Vincardog]

1. Fire McChrystal and make plans to GTFO of the graveyard of empires

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. Amen to that.

IIRC, no power that tried to "conquer" Afghanistan has ever succeeded...

And we thought we could?

Ha.

[Clio the Leo]

3. and wait and see if THIS little diddy makes the news....

Avowed opponents of McChrystal are whispering about the DoD's inspector general's report on abuses at Camp Nama, which McChrystal oversaw as Commander in Chief of the Joint Special Operations Command. It hasn't been released.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/10/06/the-night-beat-mcchrystals-terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad-day/58548/

[babylonsister]

4. We know he's a scumbucket, just didn't know how much of one he was. nt

[AtomicKitten]

5. I hope this is a catalyst to ending these pointless wars.

I hope so. If McChrystal really thinks the war is un-winnable given the resources available and the time lines drawn in cement, then we're done. BushCo used a magic trick on the cost of the wars by not putting them in the budget, but Pres Obama is feeling the heavy weight of the cost. Stick a fork in it and bring our military home.

[babylonsister]

6. Amen. I agree. nt

[Rosa Luxemburg]

7. why are we in Afghanistan?