McChrystal’s dilemma
Indeed, hair may be on fire at McChrystal’s Bagram headquarters. Rumors are circulating in military circles of backbiting and finger pointing, as well as complaints that MacChrystal is being set up as a fall guy, while his boss, General Petraeus, skates to a Republican presidential nomination in 2012.
The stressed out psychological atmosphere appears to have induced General McChrystal to return to his special operations roots for a quick fix, by focusing even more on targeted assassinations in order to reverse the course of events, a sense of desperation smacking of the infamous, Vietnam-era Phoenix Campaign.
Michaael Anderson:
Oh, great—what a scenario—Petraeus gets elected President in a rigged election by the SWMMC, Tea Partyers, and other assorted gangs of idiots representing the disenfrachised middle class (the REAL Fascist menace, right?), the (Oil) wars go on as usual—wasn’t Obama’s schedule for withdrawal kind of loosey-goosey anyway? Seems like any plausibly-deniable excuse to “stay the course” will work, right?
Obama retires back to Chicago; McChrystal gets a retirement villa in Miami next to Manuel Noriega’s, and is a covert advisor to the military on how to destroy humans incrementally, one fingernail at a time. Good gig for a couple of loyal Capitalist Reptiles, eh? The whole thing seems like theater—”Global Capitalism—coming to a Theater of Operations near YOU.”
Sorry—woke up rather ill-humored this morning.
28 May 2010, 12:07 pmStan:
I think Noriega is in prison. (:
28 May 2010, 4:57 pmGuy Montag:
Gen. McChrystal as “fall guy”? I can’t muster up any tears for him.
McChrystal was the “go-to” General for Cheney and Rumsfeld and played the central role in the Army’s cover-up of Pat Tillman’s friendly-fire death. Last year, President Obama gave McChrystal his fourth star after the Democratic Congress white-washed McChrystal’s actions with their “investigations”.
If you want to learn more, check out my “Tillman Files” at http://www.feralfirefighter.blogspot.com
28 May 2010, 9:41 pmMarcilla Elizabeth Smith:
I’d rather hear what Noriega has to say :: sigh ::
28 May 2010, 10:24 pmStan:
Counter-insurgency doctrine consists of retrospective corrections for past failures… to create fresh failures. Obama as Johnson (or perhaps Nixon). McChrystal as Westmorland.
29 May 2010, 8:57 amMichaael Anderson:
You are right…my mistake. Lazy scholarship on Noriega.
29 May 2010, 2:17 pmCurt:
Vast monuments of cobalt, copper and lithium, and even gold discovered by US geologists working for the Pentagon in Afghanistan. What a birthday present. Right on time.
14 June 2010, 6:53 amDeAnander:
This NY Times article drips with euphemism, corp-speak, and general PCness (PC in this case standing for Pestiferous Colonialism). In the wake of the BP scandal and disaster you gotta love the condescending comments about Afghanis not having good environmental protection and too much corruption in their government to manage their mineral wealth wisely. Poor dears, I guess we know which benevolent foreign power will be delighted to step in and take care of it for them. And then everything will be peachy — just ask the residents of Louisiania. Or Appalachia.
14 June 2010, 9:12 amMichael Anderson:
Is this the fall, or just a diversion?—
McClatchy Washington Bureau
Posted on Tue, Jun. 22, 2010
McChrystal recalled to Washington over Rolling Stone article
KABUL — The top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan was recalled to Washington on Tuesday after he was forced to make a “sincerest apology” over a magazine article in which he and unnamed aides criticized and lampooned senior Obama administration officials.
Gen. Stanley McChrystal, in charge of the U.S.-led international force in Afghanistan, managed last year to persuade Obama to send thousands more American troops to the conflict to back his new counter-insurgency strategy to rescue the failing war there.
In the article, in the forthcoming issue of Rolling Stone magazine, an aide ridicules Vice President Joe Biden — who had opposed the troop surge for Afghanistan — while another aide described U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Ricahrd Holbrooke as a “wounded animal.” McChrystal is quoted saying that the U.S. ambassador in Kabul, Karl Eikenberry, who also opposed the extra troops, “covers his flank for the history books.” An aide calls national security adviser James Jones, a retired general, a “clown.” Only Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gets good reviews from McChrystal’s staff.
“It was a mistake reflecting poor judgment and should never have happened. Throughout my career, I have lived by the principles of personal honor and professional integrity. What is reflected in this article falls far short of that standard,” McChrystal said in a statement.
“I have enormous respect and admiration for President Obama and his national security team, and for the civilian leaders and troops fighting this war and I remain committed to ensuring its successful outcome.”
McChrystal last night individually called all those disparaged in the article to apologize. “He spoke to everyone but the president,” one military official said.
McChrystal’s strategy to stabilize Afghanistan is already shaky, with mixed results from his first major operation, in Helmand province, and questions being asked over the upcoming offensive in Kandahar.
NATO was quick to make clear that it continued to support the American general.
NATO spokesman James Appathurai said: “It is a rather unfortunate article, but it is just an article. We are in the middle of a very real conflict, and the Secretary General has full confidence in General McChrystal as the NATO Commanders and in his strategy”.
MORE FROM MCCLATCHY
McChrystal calls Marjah a ‘bleeding ulcer’ in Afghan campaign
22 June 2010, 11:55 amStan:
see link
22 June 2010, 5:35 pmTimothy R. Anderson:
Some but not all of these “higher-up’s ” know something that President Obama also knows.
22 June 2010, 5:50 pmKeep the WAR going is the overarching objective.
Michael Anderson:
Looks like Petraeus got a different reward, one with better job security (sic):
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/28/us/28team.html?_r=1&hp#
Panetta and Petraeus in Line for Top Security Posts
By ELISABETH BUMILLER and MARK MAZZETTI
WASHINGTON — President Obama is expected this week to name Leon E. Panetta, the director of central intelligence, as defense secretary and Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top American commander in Afghanistan, as director of the C.I.A., administration officials said Wednesday.
The appointments, set in motion by the impending retirement of Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, are part of a significant rearrangement of Mr. Obama’s national security team that will include several new assignments within the closest circle of his diplomatic, military and intelligence advisers.
27 April 2011, 12:32 pmMichael Anderson:
Mmm…and Liz Bumiller is still cranking it out for the NYT….job security indeed.
27 April 2011, 12:33 pm