Tuesday, June 22, 2010

FUBAR in Afghanistan

A lot of people didn't think much of Obama's appointment of Stanley McChrystal to head up the war in Afghanistan. Obama himself may be feeling the same way now.

McChrystal's complaints about his commander in chief and Obama's aides put his job in jeopardy. Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said Tuesday "the magnitude and greatness of the mistake here are profound" and repeatedly declined to say McChrystal's job was safe. "All options are on the table," he said.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the commander's comments in Rolling Stone magazine were "distractions" to the war in Afghanistan.

McChrystal publicly apologized Tuesday for using "poor judgment" in interviews for the magazine. He then left Afghanistan to appear, as ordered by Obama, at the White House on Wednesday.

[...]

He'll be expected to explain his comments to the president and Pentagon officials who, as Gibbs put it, want "to see what in the world he was thinking."

  Yahoo

Apparently he didn't realize he wasn't in a free speech zone.

Practically the only expression of confidence in McChrystal on Tuesday came from Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

Ah, the kiss of death.

And here's the Rolling Stone article: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/17390/119236, where he is quoted as saying in a Paris hotel room recently, "I'd rather have my ass kicked by a roomful of people than go out to this dinner." Looks like he's about to have gotten both.

Last fall, during the question-and-answer session following a speech he gave in London, McChrystal dismissed the counterterrorism strategy being advocated by Vice President Joe Biden as "shortsighted," saying it would lead to a state of "Chaos-istan." The remarks earned him a smackdown from the president himself, who summoned the general to a terse private meeting aboard Air Force One. The message to McChrystal seemed clear: Shut the fuck up, and keep a lower profile.

I guess he forgot that part.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

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