How Do You Solve A Problem Like McCrystal?

[1billsfan]

A US general commanding tens of thousands of troops in a Middle East war doesn't intentionally embarrass his bosses in a music magazine because he thinks that's the best way to expose them as clowns.

 

Please stop.

 

Stop what? You don't think this was done intentionally? Sorry, but McChrystal doesn't strike me as a guy who's so clueless that he wouldn't know the blowback of comments such as these.

 

Here's a few of your "music" magazine covers...

 

http://raiseyerfists.files.wordpress.com/2...ma-rs-cover.jpg

 

http://thejailbreak.com/wp-content/uploads...stone-cover.jpg

 

http://www.dailystab.com/blog/wp-content/u...stone-cover.jpg

 

 

If McChrystal thinks his troops are being vietnam-ed by this administration then this is the perfect outlet for him.

[OCinBuffalo]

From the military prospective:

 

One of the first pieces of knowledge that I was immediately accountable for was: my chain of command. Every day, all the time, they would ask, and I would answer. It starts with the President, then the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Division, Brigade, Regiment and/or Battalion, and Company Commanders, Platoon leader, Platoon Sergeant, Squad Leader, and Team Leader.

 

It's funny, because no matter what, I have this strange compulsion to always make sure I at least know who the first 4 are. Sort of a "just in case" thing. I have no idea why. It's strange.

 

Anyway, WHY do they do this? Why do they do it to the point that it instills strange compulsions in people years later?

 

Answer: to beat it into our heads that elected/appointed civilians are in charge of the military, not general officers.

So, it seems that this guy forgot what he learned when he was a plebe, and that simply ain't right. What he should be saying to Obama, and everyone else? "No excuse, sir!"

 

Even if the civilian is a giant jackass, who doesn't know who you are....as, you know, the guy who is fighting your war, and doesn't seem to care. Even if you are an expert leader, as evidenced by your position in the Army, and you can smell a weak/bad leader a mile away. Even if you have contempt for that bad/weak civilian leader. Even if that civilian sends another civilian who is just as clueless and weak as he is to be the ambassador. Even if nobody in their right mind would argue with you about military affairs, especially when they have 0 military experience. Even if the antics of these civilians and especially their ridiculous pissant advisers represent a very real chance of getting your men killed.....

 

Even if all these things are true.....and worse....these civilians are your bosses, and it's your job to deal with it and be a good follower. After all, they taught you to follow first, before they taught you to lead. This concept comes from General Washington himself, and no flag officer, no matter how good, is bigger than George.

[finknottle]

Let's not forget one thing:

 

He isn't some random general who is totally out of line. He is Obama's General, though you won't hear the media reminding you of that.

 

When Obama entered office, McKiernan was in charge. Three months into office the Obama administration made the extremely rare decision to replace a wartime commander before his tour was up, bypassing the Pentagon. They argued, as is their perogative, that they needed their hand-picked guy to execute the Presidents (original) plan. They chose McCrystal, promoted him to General, and let him loose. Their choice, and they went out of their way to do it.

 

To me McCrystal is a reflection of the incompetance of White House leadership.

[Alaska Darin]

No one is going to convince me that McCrystal didn't do this in a calculated manner. That dude is smart and he doesn't want his name topping the list of this failure (which seems inevitable given there isn't a clear definition of what victory in Afghanistan actually looks like).

 

This administration has been amateur hour since the beginning. Not much has changed.

[Jim in Anchorage]

I have serious reservations about anyone who would read, let alone give a interview to rolling stone.

[OCinBuffalo]

No one is going to convince me that McCrystal didn't do this in a calculated manner. That dude is smart and he doesn't want his name topping the list of this failure (which seems inevitable given there isn't a clear definition of what victory in Afghanistan actually looks like).

 

This administration has been amateur hour since the beginning. Not much has changed.

IF that is the case, then he has broken rule #1 for a general officer. Hey, even McCarthur got fired for breaking the very same rule. This guy ain't even close to McCarthur.

 

I understand why he did it. But, as I said, the concept of civilians leading the chain of command can't be compromised no matter what. If the President is acting ridiculous we have vehicles for that: impeachment, election. That's a matter for the civilians to decide, not the military. IF we ever let the military even come close to deciding, we are no better than some pissant third world country.

 

Now, on the other hand, THESE civilians have consistently used dishonorable tactics like press leaks, grandstanding, and using their subordinates as asscovers. But, again, none of that justifies the military using those tactics. After all we have an honor code, and they don't.

[Dave_In_Norfolk]

One thing is for sure, no matter what happens to him, it won't make any difference in turning Afganistan into a stable country. That is a lost cause.

[John Adams]

One thing is for sure, no matter what happens to him, it won't make any difference in turning Afganistan into a stable country. That is a lost cause.

 

But a great way to spend money.

[Dave_In_Norfolk]

Let's not forget one thing:

 

He isn't some random general who is totally out of line. He is Obama's General, though you won't hear the media reminding you of that.

 

When Obama entered office, McKiernan was in charge. Three months into office the Obama administration made the extremely rare decision to replace a wartime commander before his tour was up, bypassing the Pentagon. They argued, as is their perogative, that they needed their hand-picked guy to execute the Presidents (original) plan. They chose McCrystal, promoted him to General, and let him loose. Their choice, and they went out of their way to do it.

 

To me McCrystal is a reflection of the incompetance of White House leadership.

Kind of reminds me of Lincoln's incompetence in choosing generals before 1864

[Alaska Darin]

IF that is the case, then he has broken rule #1 for a general officer. Hey, even McCarthur got fired for breaking the very same rule. This guy ain't even close to McCarthur.

 

I understand why he did it. But, as I said, the concept of civilians leading the chain of command can't be compromised no matter what. If the President is acting ridiculous we have vehicles for that: impeachment, election. That's a matter for the civilians to decide, not the military. IF we ever let the military even come close to deciding, we are no better than some pissant third world country.

 

Now, on the other hand, THESE civilians have consistently used dishonorable tactics like press leaks, grandstanding, and using their subordinates as asscovers. But, again, none of that justifies the military using those tactics. After all we have an honor code, and they don't.

I didn't say I agreed with him - but I understand why he'd tarnish his own legacy rather than let them do it to him.

[/dev/null]

The Daily Telegraph (London) claims that McCrystal has tendered his resignation

[PastaJoe]

Kind of reminds me of Lincoln's incompetence in choosing generals before 1864

 

Lincoln, FDR, and Truman all had issues with generals, and they were right in the end. If McCrystal really feels that way about the administration, then the honorable thing for him to do would be to resign and not wait to be asked to resign by Obama.

 

If he does, I expect to hear calls for a Palin / McCrystal ticket by the end of the week.

[Chef Jim]

So from now on this form of professional suicide will be referred to as the McCrystal Method.

[DC Tom]

Lincoln, FDR, and Truman all had issues with generals, and they were right in the end. If McCrystal really feels that way about the administration, then the honorable thing for him to do would be to resign and not wait to be asked to resign by Obama.

 

If he does, I expect to hear calls for a Palin / McCrystal ticket by the end of the week.

 

Actually, Lincoln was wrong in the end; he caved and gave overall command of the Union Army to Meade. Lincoln's incompetence as Commander in Chief is almost unbelievable.

 

And I don't know what "issues" you're thinking FDR had - the only issue he had was the same one Truman had: Dugout Doug. In the mid-30s, MacArthur actually bawled out Roosevelt worse than McCrystal's done Obama.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

So from now on this form of professional suicide will be referred to as the McCrystal Method.

 

 

Brilliant strategy really. Get off the boat before the retard piloting it runs it aground. Can't fault him one bit.

[Hossage]

Actually, Lincoln was wrong in the end; he caved and gave overall command of the Union Army to Meade. Lincoln's incompetence as Commander in Chief is almost unbelievable.

 

And I don't know what "issues" you're thinking FDR had - the only issue he had was the same one Truman had: Dugout Doug. In the mid-30s, MacArthur actually bawled out Roosevelt worse than McCrystal's done Obama.

 

 

Absolutely, Lincoln was an incompetent fascist.

[OCinBuffalo]

Lincoln, FDR, and Truman all had issues with generals, and they were right in the end. If McCrystal really feels that way about the administration, then the honorable thing for him to do would be to resign and not wait to be asked to resign by Obama.

 

If he does, I expect to hear calls for a Palin / McCrystal ticket by the end of the week.

There's historical precedent for that with both McClellan running against Lincoln, and, McCarthur running a whisper campaign against Truman, but losing badly in the primary. All this while still serving as General = bad, really bad.

 

And, you can roll your eyes all you want but McCrystal resigning, and then running against Obama is as American as apple pie. In fact is the most American thing he could do. I would much rather see that than this talking smack in the press crap.

 

Oh....and every single liberal tool on this board who gave you a hard time over Hillary? Retards. If we had listened to you, we wouldn't be dealing with half the crap we are right now. I remain convinced that Hillary is 5x the political leader compared to Barry and her husband.

[Dave_In_Norfolk]

Actually, Lincoln was wrong in the end; he caved and gave overall command of the Union Army to Meade. Lincoln's incompetence as Commander in Chief is almost unbelievable.

That is a matter of opinion. Do you have the right general? Maybe you were thinking of that cancerous scab McClellen? Meade never had overall command of the Union armies, he had command of the Army of the Potomac, and stayed on in that capacity after the conquerer of Vicksburg was appointed as overall commander of all Union Armies. And it was Grant that wanted him in that position. As to Lincoln's incompetence, that's debatable, yes he made mistakes,but he was let down time and again by generals who really were incompetent. In my opinion, Lincoln was our greatest President, and moved heaven and Earth to win a war, while holding together the war party politically, while overseeing the revolution of emancapation--at just the right moment--and dealing with massive incompetence, the largest domestic riot in our history, an Indian uprising in Minnesota and a huge economic mess with inflation.

[Dave_In_Norfolk]

Lincoln, FDR, and Truman all had issues with generals, and they were right in the end. If McCrystal really feels that way about the administration, then the honorable thing for him to do would be to resign and not wait to be asked to resign by Obama.

 

If he does, I expect to hear calls for a Palin / McCrystal ticket by the end of the week.

Not to mention Kennedy. I read this book last summer

 

http://www.amazon.com/One-Minute-to-Midnig...k/dp/B0018QOYWA

 

And it made me respect Kennedy so much. The Generals were demanding an invasion of Cuba, screaming, stomping their feet and crying for one, but Kennedy called for patience, and thank God! There were tactical nuclear weapons on the island ready to go and wipe out Guatanamo (sic) and the invasion force, and our guys didn't know about them. Kennedy saved the world by not listening to his generals. If the nukes started flying in Cuba....well, ya.

[PastaJoe]

There's historical precedent for that with both McClellan running against Lincoln, and, McCarthur running a whisper campaign against Truman, but losing badly in the primary. All this while still serving as General = bad, really bad.

 

And, you can roll your eyes all you want but McCrystal resigning, and then running against Obama is as American as apple pie. In fact is the most American thing he could do. I would much rather see that than this talking smack in the press crap.

 

Oh....and every single liberal tool on this board who gave you a hard time over Hillary? Retards. If we had listened to you, we wouldn't be dealing with half the crap we are right now. I remain convinced that Hillary is 5x the political leader compared to Barry and her husband.

 

 

I rolled the eyes because the anti-Obama crowd will call for McChrystal to run just because he's spoken out about Obama, even though they know nothing about his views on most issues.

 

"McChrystal's team disapproves of the Obama administration, with the exception of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who backed McChrystal's request for additional troops in Afghanistan."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37839756/ns/us_news-military/

 

I still think Hillary could end up as president in the future if she chooses to run.