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June 26, 2010

Re: 'The General and the Community Organizer'

If you've been listening to the talking heads at ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, and MSNBC, you've been hearing that Barack Obama's firing of General Stanley McChrystal was a "brilliant political move," and that General McChrystal and his senior aides are, in so many words - more or less, essentially a bunch of lame-brained numskulls for talking to a reporter for Rolling Stone Magazine. However, you can believe these Obama-loving talking heads with a messiah complex only if you ignore the core makeup, experience, world view, and agenda of the two very different men at the center of the controversy: One of them is an ideologue, a power hungry politician far-detached from the reality of war, and at his core - a community organizer; the other, an experienced warrior, a patriot, and a man among men who is focused on winning the war.

However, there's another take. In what should be your must read of the day, Paul Hollrah argues at Red County that McChrystal and his aides knew exactly what they were doing:

[...] From the day that he became the handpicked "spear carrier" for Obama's unique brand of warfare... playing at being Commander in Chief while playing to his far left constituency... McChrystal's life had been one of constant frustration. After telling Obama exactly how many troops he needed to carry out his mission, Obama dithered for months before deciding to give him just half the troops he requested. McChrystal could not have been happy about that.

The Obama team insisted on new Rules of Engagement designed to reduce collateral damage (civilian casualties). Obama's ROE required that U.S. troops must be able to see the enemy with weapon in hand before they were allowed to return fire. One videotape circulated on the Internet showed a platoon of Marines pinned down by enemy sniper fire. But since the enemy was firing from some distance behind the open window of a building, the Marines could not actually see the weapon being fired. Although they were taking deadly fire, they were prohibited by the ROE from putting small arms fire or an RPG through the window opening.

Under Obama's politically correct ROE, our soldiers and Marines were required to fight with one hand tied behind their backs. McChrystal had to have been happy about that.

A strict new interrogation policy, dictated by Attorney General Eric Holder, required that prisoners must be delivered to an Interrogation Center within twenty-four hours of being captured or be released to return to the battlefield. A great deal of actionable intelligence was lost as a result and battle-hardened enemy fighters were returned to the field to kill Americans. McChrystal must have found that to be incomprehensible.

But the greatest insult to our troops in the field, and to the officers who lead them, may be a new battlefield medal designed by the Obama team. It is called the Courageous Restraint Medal and is awarded to soldiers and Marines who demonstrate uncommon restrain in combat by not firing their weapons even when they feel threatened by the enemy. Should we be surprised to learn that the preponderance these medals were awarded posthumously? McChrystal must have found that to be an insanity.

I suggest that, having his best military judgments subjected to the White House political sieve for nearly a year and a half, McChrystal decided that he'd had enough. And when he announced to his senior staff that he was prepared to retire they decided to push back... to make the most of a bad situation. It was clear that, if McChrystal were to simply take off his uniform and walk away, his retirement would be page-twenty news for a day or two before the mainstream media and the American people forgot all about him.

They had to make the most of his retirement because it provided a one-time opportunity to show the American people, as well as our enemies and our allies, that the man who claims the title of Commander in Chief of the U.S. military does not command the respect of our men and women in uniform. To make the most of that opportunity they had to choose their messenger very carefully.

They knew that, by openly showing their disrespect for Obama in front of just any newsman, they may not attract the attention they desired. Like any astute observer of the MSM, they knew that most reporters would turn on their own mothers if it meant a good story. But they could not take a chance that a mainstream media reporter might suffer a rare pang of conscience when confronted with the prospect of ruining the careers of some of the most senior officers in the War on Terror. They had to fix the odds as much as possible in their favor so they chose to use Michael Hastings and Rolling Stone Magazine.

For a somewhat different perspective, check out this piece in the WaPo.

Related:
Rolling Stone editor: All quotes dissing Obama admin came from McChrystal's "inner circle"
Rolling Stone McChrystal article understates the backbiting

Posted by Richard at June 26, 2010 10:05 AM

• Re: 'The General and the Community Organizer' - Jun 26, 2010