Whoops..... McChrystal recalled to DC

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Nobody likes the truth.

Especially the current crop of detached a**holes in the White House. :mad:

That said, it is never wise to publicly dis your boss, no matter how correct you may be. This is especially true for those in the military.

I would say the good General's career is about to end. Not a bad run, though.
 
Especially the current crop of detached a**holes in the White House. :mad:

That said, it is never wise to publicly dis your boss, no matter how correct you may be. This is especially true for those in the military.

I would say the good General's career is about to end. Not a bad run, though.

SF types are fantastic warriors, but he seems to have forgotten the top 3 rules of SF operations: "rapport, rapport, rapport."
 
Ten will get you twenty, he probably had already submitted his retirement papers and this was his sword he was willing to fall on. I can't believe he is that stupid not to realize he would be fired for this article. I also think that is why he hasn't been relieved of duty. You have to believe that when the reporter from Rolling Stones did this article, they called Gates's office for a comment. I don't think Gates got blindsided by waking up this morning to hear the news like all of us did, pretty sure Gates knew it was coming down, but had not decided on how to approach the situation.

All of it being said, I do believe he was wrong for saying what he said as a military officer. I have no issue of him opening his mouth as a retired officer, but not as an AD member.
 
All of it being said, I do believe he was wrong for saying what he said as a military officer. I have no issue of him opening his mouth as a retired officer, but not as an AD member.

Agreed. AD military MUST remain silent on political matters and carry out the (legal) orders of the civilian government no matter how stupid the orders may be. If a commander has issues with the orders, he can bring them up through channels (which don't include the press) and, if he is sufficiently passionate about his position, he can resign in protest, retire, and THEN make his case.

We are America. Some principles must remain inviolate.
 
Am I the only one that noticed his apology was worded in a manner to apologize for saying it openly, but not for what he said? I think his apology is probably why he is being summoned to DC.

I don't really feel bad for him, I am sure he will get a great job with a defense contracting company as the CEO.

I also feel that he shouldn't have said it on the record because it does harm the troops. The insurgents can see this as a rallying point, i.e. "Look, even the brass thinks Obama is weak".
 
Agree with the above. As a member of the military -- and especially a commanding general -- your job is to obey the lawful orders of your superiors, even if you think they're complete moronic idiots and political hacks. That's the way this country has always worked. See General McArthur as an example of someone who tried to take on his civilian superiors.

We can speculate on this general's motives, but he had to know that such comments made to a reporter (even "off the record") would eventually find their way into the public domain and that in turn would spell the end of his career. If he didn't realize that, then he isn't very smart and shouldn't be commanding our troops.:rolleyes:
 
Mine is not to reason why, mine is but to do and die...
 
Am I the only one that noticed his apology was worded in a manner to apologize for saying it openly, but not for what he said? I think his apology is probably why he is being summoned to DC.

Nope. I noticed it, too.

I don't really feel bad for him, I am sure he will get a great job with a defense contracting company as the CEO.

Ain't it the truth! I wish he was hiring!

I also feel that he shouldn't have said it on the record because it does harm the troops. The insurgents can see this as a rallying point, i.e. "Look, even the brass thinks Obama is weak".

Well, let's look at that...

First off, I don't think THIS President needs a General telling him that more troops are need to be seen by the enemy as weak. He's doing just fine giving that impression all on his own.

On the flip side, the troops on the ground may ( and I stress "MAY") actually get a boost by seeing their commanding general willing to take it in the shorts (to an extent - remember that CEO gig) to get them what they need.

So I suppose it all depends on who is doing the analysis.

Either way, the General was out of line. Sorry, but that's the way it is.
 
Mine is not to reason why, mine is but to do and die...

Temper that with legality.

"Just following orders" is a poor excuse when the order is illegal. As a future officer, it may be up to you to make that determination in a bind, and it may cost lives no matter which side you land on.
 
Just putting this out there- anyone think McChrystal has politics in his future? Wouldn't be the first fired general to enter the ring...
 
Just putting this out there- anyone think McChrystal has politics in his future? Wouldn't be the first fired general to enter the ring...

Who knows? He wouldn't be the first to try it.

He also wouldn't be the first to fail at it, either.
 
I don't think he has any desire for politics...Petraeus probably does though.

Any one at that level has worked at one time or another in the Pentagon, trust me, as a spouse whose DH worked there as an AD, and now as a GS, you quickly learn the political world. This is also why AD members avoid the Puzzle Palace like the plague!

He knew without a doubt that this was his sword, and he was no longer willing to play the game. Anyone who is unwilling to play the game does not want to be in politics. This is not like Gen. Clark or Powell, both of them were willing to play the game, it is more like Stormin Norman after Gulf I.
 
He knew without a doubt that this was his sword, and he was no longer willing to play the game. Anyone who is unwilling to play the game does not want to be in politics. This is not like Gen. Clark or Powell, both of them were willing to play the game, it is more like Stormin Norman after Gulf I.

Sold. :thumb:
 
Actually, this reminds me a lot of Stormin because he did the exact same thing by publicly criticizing Bush41 and the Pentagon for forcing him to stop.
 
Guys with his specific background never have trouble finding work, regardless of rank.

And I should point out that he's not really an SF guy. He's a tabbed guy, but he drank "the" kool-aid a long time ago.
 
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