Chain of Command

[Magox]

I thought it was some what strange that Army General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan was having these interviews regarding what we should do to win the war. Although I do agree with his assessment, I thought it was highly unappropriate of him to not go up through the chain of command. It definitely in my view places BO in a box, you have your field commander publicly telling the world what we need to do and if BO doesn't follow through with it (which I have a feeling he won't), then that leaves him open to even heavier criticism.

 

I found it odd that McChrystal wasn't getting criticized for this up until this weekend, when Jim Jones, Obama’s national security adviser finally brought it up, and now today Gates did as well.

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206...id=aytcfdrBzuhs

[finknottle]

I thought it was some what strange that Army General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan was having these interviews regarding what we should do to win the war. Although I do agree with his assessment, I thought it was highly unappropriate of him to not go up through the chain of command. It definitely in my view places BO in a box, you have your field commander publicly telling the world what we need to do and if BO doesn't follow through with it (which I have a feeling he won't), then that leaves him open to even heavier criticism.

 

I found it odd that McChrystal wasn't getting criticized for this up until this weekend, when Jim Jones, Obama’s national security adviser finally brought it up, and now today Gates did as well.

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206...id=aytcfdrBzuhs

 

It is the story behind the story.

 

Sure, there is a chain of command. Going outside it is a no-no, only to be contemplated when drawing attention to a serious problem, in effect saying to the public 'Hey, we are not being listened to.'

 

Is that the case? Obama say's Afghanistan is our top priority and removes the commander there before his tour is up. And yet he has only spoken with his hand-picked replacement once in the 3 1/2 months since he assumed command. Unless you count the 25 minute down-dressing on Obama's plan in Copenhagen that McChrystal was summoned to... but that was only as a result of McChrystal's public actions.

[Magox]

It is the story behind the story.

 

Sure, there is a chain of command. Going outside it is a no-no, only to be contemplated when drawing attention to a serious problem, in effect saying to the public 'Hey, we are not being listened to.'

 

Is that the case? Obama say's Afghanistan is our top priority and removes the commander there before his tour is up. And yet he has only spoken with his hand-picked replacement once in the 3 1/2 months since he assumed command. Unless you count the 25 minute down-dressing on Obama's plan in Copenhagen that McChrystal was summoned to... but that was only as a result of McChrystal's public actions.

I don't disagree that BO has somewhat mishandled this situation, the fact that he had only spoken to McChrystal one time up until the 25 minute conversation is telling of that. Also, he is getting a lot of opposition within his own party, and I have a feeling that he is going to cave in under pressure and break his promise to the American Public he made, not just on the campaign trail but also his reaffirmation of his plan of Afghanistan back in March.

 

I will wait to pass final judgement until I see the final plan, but no matter what I think, McChrystal definitely behaved improperly with his public speakings regarding Afghanistan.

[erynthered]

It is the story behind the story.

 

Sure, there is a chain of command. Going outside it is a no-no, only to be contemplated when drawing attention to a serious problem, in effect saying to the public 'Hey, we are not being listened to.'

 

Is that the case? Obama say's Afghanistan is our top priority and removes the commander there before his tour is up. And yet he has only spoken with his hand-picked replacement once in the 3 1/2 months since he assumed command. Unless you count the 25 minute down-dressing on Obama's plan in Copenhagen that McChrystal was summoned to... but that was only as a result of McChrystal's public actions.

 

He's been to busy with that Health care reform stump speech thingy. That's much more important then that pesky little war in Afghanistan right now.

[IDBillzFan]

I will wait to pass final judgement until I see the final plan, but no matter what I think, McChrystal definitely behaved improperly with his public speakings regarding Afghanistan.

I tend to agree with you here. I wonder if it's possible he's doing this because he feels like his recommendations falling on deaf ears. When his memo was "leaked" recently, I thought that was particularly odd, until I heard the memo was dated late August, almost an entire month before it was leaked. If he's yelling to his bosses that we're in big trouble if we don't follow "this, this and this," and no one is doing anything, then he's probably concerned about people unnecessarily dying while waiting for someone to make a decision, and he's opted to be more vocal.

 

While I admit this next part is classic partisan thinking, I think it's fair to question whether the delay is due to him trying to appease the hard left wing of his party.

[Magox]

I tend to agree with you here. I wonder if it's possible he's doing this because he feels like his recommendations falling on deaf ears. When his memo was "leaked" recently, I thought that was particularly odd, until I heard the memo was dated late August, almost an entire month before it was leaked. If he's yelling to his bosses that we're in big trouble if we don't follow "this, this and this," and no one is doing anything, then he's probably concerned about people unnecessarily dying while waiting for someone to make a decision, and he's opted to be more vocal.

 

I think that may be entirely possible, maybe he knew of the possible consequences and opted to do what he felt was the "right" thing. Even so, he is not the decision maker, and he should of never of put the president in the position he is in today, which is a position of doubt in the public arena.

 

While I admit this next part is classic partisan thinking, I think it's fair to question whether the delay is due to him trying to appease the hard left wing of his party.

 

I also believe that it is quite possible, that he is looking to get a gauge in what the public and other politicians (mainly from the left) think, before he makes his decision. If that is the case, he has no business being the Commander-in-Chief. You have to be able to make the unpopular decisions, and not the one that the public always wants, because many times the public is either ill informed or too soft. Hopefully that's not the case here.

[BillsNYC]

I was wondering last week why nobody was criticizing him for going outside the chain of command, Obama IS the Commander in Chief. Looks like the liberals finally caught on and are attacking the General now.

 

I see Obama's side that he should not have gone public with this, its a military matter. Although I see the General's side in that he is begging for more troops, he hasn't spoken to Obama in 3 months, he knows he's starting to lose the war and not getting answers while the situation deteriorates. Lord knows if it gets much worse, HE'LL be the scapegoat, not Obama, so I can see why he went to the media. It might cost him his job and he's likely to get eaten alive by the left, but from his standpoint that may be worth it if it means getting what the military needs to get the job done.

 

Bush met with his generals ever 2 weeks, Obama should start doing the same.