الثلاثاء، 22 يونيو 2010

I have read the Rolling Stones article where General McCrystal, the officer in charge of the war in Afghanistan, vented on virtually everyone in the Obama administration. And it is of no consequence that many of us or even I agree with the general’s assessment of the Obama administration - General McCrystal must be fired. The great General Douglas McArthur, who brilliantly prosecuted the war in the Pacific theater, was fired by President Truman because the former thought he was bigger than the latter.

Our Constitution spells out the chain of command and no matter how brilliant a general may be, he serves at the pleasure of the Commander-In-Chief, who happens to be the president, pursuant to the dictates of our Constitution. Think of the precedent it would send if General McCrystal were to retain his job after coming close to breaching the Military Code for insubordination?

From the get go, we must surmise that General McCrystal’s judgment must have been impaired to have agreed to sit down with a journalist representing the ultra leftist Rolling Stone magazine. We do not know if the general’s biting critique of the Obama administration was off the record, but I am of the opinion that if most journalists had to adhere to the principles of their ethics to keep a given conversation off the record as opposed to throwing that someone who engaged in said conversation under the bus (General Mc Crystal), I am betting on the latter outcome.

No matter how one feels about the President, especially as an officer of the Armed Forces, one must respect the office. Like it or not, President Obama was elected Commander-In-Chief - ironically it is said that McCrystal voted for Obama- because if the President is not afforded that respect from the likes of General McCrystal, then why should the men in the Afghan theater under McCrystal command follow his orders if he is being subordinate to the very top dog?

This pending firing of General McCrystal is about maintaining integrity in our military ranks and moreover adhering to Article 11 of our Constitution, which spells out the chain of command. There may be many of us who believe that President Obama’s policies are leading this great country into becoming like that of developing country, where generals run the ship, but we are still a country of laws and our generals, brilliant as they may be in prosecuting wars, are subordinate to the president.

10 التعليقات:

  1. Fire him. He has sworn to follow the legal orders of the President of the United States of America, and his soldiers are expected to follow his orders the same way. His troops are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for orders they may not agree with. He is guilty of insubordination and needs to be relieved of both rank and command. Anything less is an insult to those serving beneath him. Disagree with the president in meetings with the president, otherwise shut up and do your duty.

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  2. The so called war is unwinnable so stop B.S. In ten years the world's so called best army can't catch Osama instead killed millions by carpet bombing using aircraft against those who don't have one air craft. Time to come home cowards.

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  3. History repeats itself Afghanistan is the graveyard of empires and McCrystal has seen the devil so run as fast as you can with all your boys. but unfortunately we don't have any jobs in US it is all offshore to India. So how about sending our troops there working at the call centers and eating beef burgers after all they have plenty of cows well respected there

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  4. Fire him. My daughter is a soldier in Afghanistan; I have no confidence in McCrystal. This is just the latest in a series of incidents for which McCrystal should have been fired. This is the second time he has tried to do "end runs" via the media. He also thinks Karsai is a reliable and wonderful partner. He also lied to Congress about his role in covering up the facts about the death of Pat Tillman--that is a felony, not to mention heartless behavior toward the Tillman family. McCrystal will lie, cheat, or jump rank to "get his way." He has got to go.

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  5. MacArthur was fired because he was making a power grab. McCyrstal is not. He is the linchpin of our hopes in Afghanistan. If he is fired and we loose, Qbama takes a hit. Better exercise Christian forgiveness.
    And, by the way, Obama is not Truman. He is acting somewhat irrationally as the federal judge pointed out.

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  6. Ok so if one is supposed to be fired for being insubordinate that is fine. Where I am seeing is when did complaining about ones job fit the meaning of insubordinate. The last time I checked that definition is to refuse to do what is ordered of you. I would say McCrystal has been doing his job. Just because you say you don't like it that doesn't mean you aren't doing it. If that were the case I'm willing to bet we could court martial half the military since people complain about their jobs all the time. Should he have gone to a reporter to state what he thinks about the administration? Probably not, but he is in no way breaking the chain of command since he is not doing what was ordered of him by the Commander-In-Chief. If he is being fired it is not because of insubordination.

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  7. Do you think the President will spell his last name correctly when this all goes down? You seem to have it all wrapped up.

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  8. I agree. He is a soldier who is trained to take orders - he takes his from the President. He must be fired.

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  9. McChrystal is a hero. He was hand picked by the so called commander in chief who never spent one minute of his time in the armed forces. He asked for 40,000 troops and after months of dithering the would be god gave him 30,000. McChristal is a real man unlike the self serving wimp that lives in the white house and is ruining our once great country. Obama is a disgrace to the USA. He denied the general the tools to do the job in a timely fashion. Can a carpenter drive a nail without a hammer and then of course they lacked enough nails. The general did his job. The goof that occupies the white house continues to not do his job in the interest of the people. The general is very brave for speaking up about our corrupt government. Vote right in November and we can help America once more be protected by GOD rather than unprotected by fools.

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  10. He had to be fired for socialism to prevail. He has a right to his own opinion but must follow directions. Obama is moving our country to socialism and he must squash anyone who does not support him.

    Look for more of this. US citizens are next.

    We are in a serious situation-almost Danger level.

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