Eat an Aspirin and Sit Down Before Reading

[Guest SUNTZU]

Op-Ed Columnist - Seven Days in June - NYTimes.com

So this general with the background in intelligence who is supposed to conquer Afghanistan can’t even figure out what Rolling Stone is? We’re not talking Guns & Ammo here; we’re talking the antiwar hippie magazine.

Military guys are rarely as smart as they think they are, and they’ve never gotten over the fact that civilians run the military.

Gen. Stanley McChrystal and his hard-bitten, smart-aleck aides nuked the president, vice president and other top advisers as wimps, losers and clowns in a Rolling Stone profile meant to polish the general’s image.

It was a product of the warrior-god culture, four-star generals with their own public-relations teams, that came from Gen. David Petraeus. And the towel-snapping was intensified by the fact that McChrystal used to be a tough special-ops, under-cover-of-the-night, rules-don’t-apply-to-us military guy.

It was bad enough to infuriate even the placid president, who had already told McChrystal to keep his head down once after the infamous London speech, and who was left wondering where those military core values of loyalty, commitment and patriotism were.

As he summoned his top commander in Afghanistan to explain himself, President Obama said that his general used “poor judgment†in the derisive way he spoke, and let his aides speak, to writer Michael Hastings. But aren’t we relying on McChrystal’s good judgment, putting more lives and billions on the line, to get us out of our ghost war?

It’s just another sign of the complete incoherence of Afghan policy. The people in charge are divided against each other. And the policy is divided against itself. We’re fighting a war against an enemy that we’re desperately trying to co-opt and win over in a country where Al Qaeda, which was supposed to be the enemy, is no longer based.

Even our corrupt puppet doesn’t think we can prevail. As Dexter Filkins recently reported in The Times, Hamid Karzai told two former Afghan officials that he had lost faith in the Americans and was trying to strike his own deal with the Taliban and Pakistan.

Afghanistan is more than the “graveyard of empires.†It’s the mother of vicious circles.

McChrystal’s defenders at the Pentagon were making the case Tuesday that the president and his men — (the McChrystal snipers spared Hillary) — must put aside their hurt feelings about being painted as weak sisters. Obama should not fire the serially insubordinate general, they reasoned, because that would undermine the mission in Afghanistan, and if that happens, then Obama would be further weakened.

So the commander in chief can be bad-mouthed as weak by the military but then he can’t punish the military because that would make him weak? It’s the same sort of pass-the-Advil vicious circle reasoning the military always uses.

McChrystal publicly pressured Obama to do the surge, warning that without it, Afghanistan would be “Chaos-istan.†But the president did do the surge and Afghanistan is Chaos-istan.

The surge isn’t working. But if it did start working, Hastings’s article suggests, the military might ask for a new surge next summer.

McChrystal warns his troops about “insurgent math†— for each innocent you kill, you make 10 enemies. Yet we keep killing and making more enemies.

The Taliban, McChrystal told Hastings, no longer has the initiative — “but I don’t think we do, either.â€

After nine years, more than a thousand troops dead, and hundreds of billions spent that could have been put toward developing new forms of fuel so that all our miseries and all our fun doesn’t derive from oil, we’ve fought our way to a stalemate.

McChrystal painted a vicious circle around his commander in chief. As Stars and Stripes summed it up: “Fire Gen. Stanley McChrystal and risk looking like he’s lost control of the war in Afghanistan. Or keep him and risk looking like he’s lost control of his generals.â€

The lean McChrystal, who was dubbed a Jedi warrior by Newsweek, prides himself on his Spartan style. He banned alcohol and Burger King from the Kabul headquarters compound and only eats one meal a day.

But he has met his match in Afghan warriors, who have clobbered every foreign invader since Alexander the Great. The average Afghan fighter lives on grain, a bowl of rice, a bottle of water. How much does it cost by comparison to have a foreign soldier in Afghanistan?

McChrystal never should have been hired for this job given the outrageous cover-up he participated in after the friendly fire death of Pat Tillman. He was lucky to keep the job after his “Seven Days in May†stunt in London last year when he openly lobbied and undercut the president on the surge.

But with the latest sassing, and the continued Sisyphean nature of the surge he urged, McChrystal should offer his resignation. He should try subordination for a change.

[Guest SUNTZU]

[Guest jackdm3]

Don't care what any of y'all think. She WAS hot!

[towerclimber37]

yeah, but how will you live with her now? she's not only old and ugly but nasty inside too!

[Guest jackdm3]

Was. WAS. WAS!

[Guest SUNTZU]

I wouldn't mind if she was hotter now, but I don't think we can use napalm anymore.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

Don't care what any of y'all think. She WAS hot!

Which one, Jack? Hanoi Jane, or Maureen Dowd?

They're both biotches and neither one is hot without

Tammy Fay Baker's makeup artist:D

[Guest jackdm3]

After seeing IMDB's profile, she's back into movies with "Monster-In-Law" and "Georgia Rule." And from the photos in those, she's a total GILF!

I'd add her to Helen Mirren and Jacqueline Bisset and Adrienne Barbeau and ...

[Guest SUNTZU]

Military guys are rarely as smart as they think they are, and they’ve never gotten over the fact that civilians run the military.

I still can't believe she said that.

[Guest Bonedaddy]

Was. WAS. WAS![/quote [i]Had you ever gotten with her, your pecker would've bailed on ya outta spite![/i]

[creeky]

I still can't believe she said that.

I'm not.

It is an example the elitist mentality of our times. The looking down on those who do work on your behalf. Be it the plumber, the electrician, HVAC guy, waiter, or solider. (I am not trying to demean soldiers at all btw.)

These elitist see them selves far above and removed from the common man. You know... the ones we grew up calling the salt of the earth. Like the plumber, they have them get into the muck and mire either because they don't know how... or they don't have the stomach for it. The whole time complaining about the price they have to pay for it. Give me air.

I was always taught to observe how the people around me treated the people that served them. It would tell me more about them than endless hours of them going on and on about themselves.

Sorry... ranting.

[towerclimber37]

I still can't believe she said that.

heh. that woman gets paid to cater to the huffington post type people and is one of the most left leaning writers out there.

Nothing she writes surprises me.

What many liberals don't understand is that many senior NCO's and Officers not only have advanced degrees in things such as business management but they've also had courses in strictly military subjects.

SHE isn't bright enough to understand that McChristal didn't really say anything that everyone else wasn't thinking. Obama's policies have tied the soldier's hands and it's costing them lives.

He said what he said in order to call attention to this and pretty much fell on his sword.

Now, we have Petraeus as the General in Afghanistan.

He's a man who already said that the surge wouldn't work in Afghanistan like it did in Iraq. Where McChristal (spelling?) was once a believer in "the one" and sympathetic to Obama's policies, Petraeus has never been so. he IS a winner though and Obama would do better to do what the man says or show the world that he's a bigger buffoon than he already is.

Keep in mind that Obama's policies have failed everywhere in the Middle East.

He reminds me of a quote, from a man I once served under. A great and wise man who IS a warrior.

"As far as Barack Hussein Obama being a great military strategist, he is neither a

strategist, nor is he schooled in the operational art, nor is he a

tactician, nor is he a general, nor is he a soldier. Other than that he's a

great military man-I want you to know that."

-General H. Norman Schwarzkopf 1991

[Guest mustangdave]

No medication or place to sit needed....Gen McCrystal and his staff were out of line...regardless of whether what they said was true or not. The General should have known MUCH better. Any way...he'll now quietly RETIRE...swap his uniform for a suit and tie...write a book...and then maybe run for public office...would you vote for HIM?

[towerclimber37]

No medication or place to sit needed....Gen McCrystal and his staff were out of line...regardless of whether what they said was true or not. The General should have known MUCH better. Any way...he'll now quietly RETIRE...swap his uniform for a suit and tie...write a book...and then maybe run for public office...would you vote for HIM?

I agree that he was wrong. If he didn't like the situation he should have refused the appointment. I can't fault him for saying it though. I'd say something if it were MY men being shot to Shi*t because they weren't allowed to defend themselves.

But that's me. And yes, when I disagreed with MY officers, I let them know about it. Some didn't like it..some didn't mind. Usually the ones that didn't mind? they were the ones that we could win with.

Voicing his opinion through Rolling stones though? nah..probably wouldn't have done that....but hey..when you can't get an audience with "the one" any other way? yeah..

[trblmkr13]

Just another reason to require military service to become President how can you lead what you do not understand?

[mikegideon]

I still can't believe she said that.

How can you be shocked? There's irresponsible babble coming from every direction in media these days. It's almost like they think they have to shock to be heard.

[MCSCOTT]

Just another reason to require military service to become President how can you lead what you do not understand?

Exactly!

And why should you be allowed to lead a country that you're not willing to fight for.

[creeky]

Just another reason to require military service to become President how can you lead what you do not understand?

While I agree with the sentiment... I don't think that is fully necessary. The President doesn't need to have experience in everything, but does need common sense and the ability to listen to people with more knowledge than himself to help guide him in the decision making process. Sometimes, in my opinion, one of a leader's greatest assets is the ability to be honest with themselves... place pride and ego on the shelf and listen to wise council of those that have knowledge through their experience. IMHO...

(And no... I have never served in the military. Though I was in charge of over 400 hundred plastic army men and two plastic army tanks. Sadly... I... I... lost them all. And to this day, I blame myself. )

[Guest Jamie]

(And no... I have never served in the military. Though I was in charge of over 400 hundred plastic army men and two plastic army tanks. Sadly... I... I... lost them all. And to this day, I blame myself. )

I'll bet your mom and the vacuum cleaner had something to do with it too... And probably the family dog.

Not gonna join in on the rest of the conversation... The whole mess in the middle-east needs to be over with, and the troops brought home. Past that, I'm not even gonna venture a guess at what needs to be done or said.

J.

[Guest Fuernis]

I cant help but wonder how many times he tried to tell his chain of command (white house) something to the same effect before he said what he did to rolling stone. Our current administration cant even keep Insurgents from coming in to the south west. I am going to start refereeing to the Mexican drug cartels as insurgents now that they have sent forces across the border on to US soil.

[Guest stmccann]

I'll bet your mom and the vacuum cleaner had something to do with it too... And probably the family dog.

Not gonna join in on the rest of the conversation... The whole mess in the middle-east needs to be over with, and the troops brought home. Past that, I'm not even gonna venture a guess at what needs to be done or said.

J.

Best solution to that problem that exists - I'd go farther and say bring the troops from the 700+ bases in 120+ countries home. All of them.

In Liberty,

Sean

[Guest 6.8 AR]

Well, the General did make a request for the additional troops more than a year ago.

It was just after the inauguration. I would dare say the leader in the field was fed up

with his rules of engagement, and the lack of that civilian leadership and support he

thought he would get, since he was picked by Obama. Whatever his comments were,

they may have been out of line, not going to challenge that, but a military commander

needs to have the respect and leadership of his civilian boss.

Obama despises the military or is scared of them, one or the other.

Maureen Dowd can go play with all of her elite friends and leave the her comments

with her damned elite friends. She makes it real easy to identify the enemy.

[Mike.357]

I still can't believe she said that.

basically that is the exact thing I heard obama say.

I can't believe that.