One Man's a Leader and One's an Empty Suit
If you think that General McChrystal faces serious problems tomorrow, in his meeting with President Obama, I know of someone who is in far deeper trouble from the fallout of McChrystal's Rolling Stone interview - the President himself. One has to remember that if Mr. Obama removes the General from command, it will have been his second time, in his short term in office, to act in this manner, when it has been decades since such an executive decision was made by a sitting President.
The President, after the scheduled meeting between the two men, may do nothing about the issue or he may reprimand the General and send him back to the field, or he may fire him for insubordination. The basic problem for the President is that McChrystal stated the obvious truth as to our war effort in Afghanistan, and Mr. Obama cannot deny the truth. We are not winning the war, and if anything, we are slowly having our life's blood sucked from us, in much the same way the Soviets did when they fought the same enemy. Our troops are fighting a defensive war with one hand tied behind their backs, and General McChrystal understands the obvious - we are not going to win the war by the time that Obama has called for a pull out of troops in one year. He knows it and thanks to Mr. Obama's decision on this dateline, the enemy knows. Unfortunately for Obama, although the war is being run according to the plan devised by McChrystal and accepted by the President, with fine nuanced tweeking done to the plan by the President which demands that Afghan civilians be spared or protected, by tempering the offensive nature of our men on the ground, it is the President and not the General who has placed our troops in harms way. If I knew the enemy was going to pull out in one year, I would hold back and wait. Why use all my forces up when time is on my side? That is what Obama's interference with the war effort has done. War is hell, and the one's who usually pay the biggest price are civilians. Unfortunately, our President, a man with no military experience, and need I say little experience at the requirements of his executive position, is trying to wage a war that cannot be won under his terms. His apologetic attitude, to the other nations of the world, for past harms done by the United States, has tempered his ability to wage a complete war with victory as the final goal. When we pull out in one year, if his plans are carried out, we will have done nothing insofar as our goal to destroy the enemy. The problem for the President however goes much deeper. While McChrystal can say to hell with it and hand in his letter of resignation, knowing he did his best under the circumstances of an inept Commander and Chief, Mr. Obama has a more serious problem to face. The war plans call for an attack on Kandhar Province, in the near future, an attack which General McChrystal has sole responsibility for insofar as preparation and planning. His resignation or firing would set back those plans and thus have a serious effect on the pull out date. With the General goes his staff, leaving no one in the field who understands the current plans of war. Bringing a new commander would take time, and time is one thing Mr. Obama does not have. In addition, pulling the commanding General from the field requires his replacement almost immediately, and Obama has been reluctant to do anything of an emergent nature "almost immediately." Finally, firing General McChrystal or accepting his resignation again would demonstrate to the U.S. voter just how weak their President is, from the standpoint of accepting truthful criticism about his administration, when that same administration is now bogged down and seemingly helpless amidst the BP oil disaster. It would make Obama appear to be a person who may be suited for the neighborhoods of Chicago, but certainly not the White House. Were I McChrystal, if the end result were simply a reprimand, I would not go back to Afghanistan unless the President and those in his administration, who are in charge of the civilian aspect of running this war, agreed to allowing our troops to fight in the same manner that our troops did in Europe in the last great war. Civilians died, property was destroyed, cities were turned to ash, but we won the war. Unless we are allowed to fight a full war, there is no sense in us even being in Afghanistan, and certainly no sense for McChrystal to return to that country just to have himself used as a target for the civilian administration of this President. I would bring our troops out and increase our own border security, where it is needed the most. If the cruel Soviets could not beat the Afghans, our tempered forces stand no chance. Thus, the problem being faced tomorrow is not being faced by General McChrystal and his staff, but rather the President and his staff. Once again, our President is being called upon to act Presidential. Chances are he will once again screw it up. JLK
