Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Please read our friend Mustang's post on General McChrystal, Jon Kyl, and President Obama. What other president could inspire such honorable 'rebellious servants' so well?

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

My only criticism of the General, who probably had as much 'carp' as any self-respecting & patriotic service man could stand, was why in the world he would talk to THE ROLLING STONE!?! That was really a lapse in judgement. I wish him luck in his meeting with the treacherous Idiot class.

Silvrlady

Anonymous said...

Great piece, Mustang.

I think McChrystal and Kyl hold different positions of service.

I believe McChrystal is under the command of the CIC, therefore he must obey his orders, or resign if he feels he's being asked to obey orders which are counter to the success of his mission, and the welfare of those under his command.

To speak in a publicly critical way about the constraints placed upon him by the President, I would assume is insubordination in a sense. If he resigns he can freely speak his mind, and that's probably why Obama will do what he can to prevent that.


Senator Kyl is not under the command of the President, and his first obligation is to serve his constituents and the American people. He does not have to answer to the President, he owes his loyalty to the people and to the country.

If he revealed a confidence, so be it. He has an obligation to inform the people if he thinks it's more important than to keep a confidence.

I think in this instance, it's about time the President's tactics are revealed for what they are. This is hardball politics on both sides, and when it comes to politics, if the press won't do their job, then it falls to the participants to do so.

Obama has been operating as though he cannot be questioned, and must be free to demonize, and destroy with no pushback.

I say, this criticism is way overdue. It's time Obama get's some of his own treatment of opponents and devious behavior thrown back in his face.

So, thank you Senator Kyl, I for one am grateful you spoke out. It's about time.

Pris

(((Thought Criminal))) said...

Well, there was serious career walk-out and retirements at the administrative levels of the military when Co-President Clinton decided to provide air support to al Qaeda against Serbia during his impeachment hearings.

That might answer the "what other president could inspire such honorable 'rebellious servants' so well?" question.

A silver lining though. After Obama, we'll likely not experiment with having a leftist President again for a long time.

Anonymous said...

Carter brought us Ronald Reagan, thank you very much. We are beholden to him for that.

Silvrlady

Anonymous said...

I'm happy that McCrystal is getting his pension. He's been a lousy commander...period. It's well known that his "ROEs" have killed too many Americans and prevented them from fighting back and killing insurgents. He's an asshole that's been put into a position way above his abilities to be a real soldier. Killing the enemy is not nor has it been his priority. What's important to him is...the "innocent civilians". That we all know...are NOT innocent. He's a tool...a wimp and a PC crippled incompetent.

However...my hope is that he crucifies the "cic", belittles him and tells the truth about the incompetence of Barry from a civilian pulpit. Once retired...he can tell all.

Major

Anonymous said...

BTW..."Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal has made it harder for troops to use airstrikes and artillery in fighting the Taliban"....

"http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/23/world/asia/23troops.html?hp"....

Proof that McCrystal is a fraud...a wimp and a tool of Obambi. Maybe...hopefully he can explain that he was being forced by this POS in the WH to betray American fighting values. Obama the magnificent just suffered a black eye because he's totally incompetent to manage this war. He's a racially determined hateful, POS incompetent dung. Just because this moron was elected...doesn't mean he knows what war is about. Thanks Mc Crystal...NOW TALK...TALK about what a traitor Barry is.

Obambi lacks humility....guts and an understanding of American resolve and determination. This POS would rather bow, fawn and capitulate to our enemies.

Major

Anonymous said...

Link...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/23/world/asia/23troops.html?hp

Major

Anonymous said...

"I wish we had generals who remembered what it was like when they were down in a platoon,” he said to a reporter in the back. “Either they never have been in real fighting, or they forgot what it’s like.”

The sergeant was speaking of Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal and the circle of counterinsurgents who since last year have been running the Afghan war, and who have, as a matter of both policy and practice, made it much more difficult for troops to use airstrikes and artillery in the fight against the Taliban.

No matter the outcome of his meeting on Wednesday in Washington over caustic comments he and his staff made about President Obama and his national security team, the general, or his successor, faces problems from a constituency as important as his bosses and that no commander wants to lose: his own troops.

As levels of violence in Afghanistan climb in another deadly summer, there is a palpable and building sense of unease among troops surrounding one the most confounding questions about how to wage the war: when and how lethal force should be used.

Since last year, the counterinsurgency doctrine championed by those now leading the campaign — often called population-centric tactics — has assumed an almost unchallenged supremacy in the ranks of the American military’s career officers. The doctrine, which has been supported by both the Bush and Obama administrations, rests on core assumptions, including that using lethal force against an insurgency intermingled with a civilian population is often counterproductive.



McCrystal...is a POS.

Major

Anonymous said...

"Since General McChrystal assumed command, he has been a central face and salesman of this idea, and he has applied it to warfare in a tangible way: by further tightening rules guiding the use of Western firepower — airstrikes and guided rocket attacks, artillery barrages and even mortar fire — to support troops on the ground.


More proof that McCrystal is a pansy, weak and cowardly commander.

In other word...Obama man.


Major

Anonymous said...

More on McCrystal's apathy for our troops.

"But the new rules have also come with costs, including a perception now frequently heard among troops that the effort to limit risks to civilians has swung too far, and endangers the lives of Afghan and Western soldiers caught in firefights with insurgents who need not observe any rules at all.

Young officers and enlisted soldiers and Marines, typically speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect their jobs, speak of “being handcuffed,” of not being trusted by their bosses and of being asked to battle a canny and vicious insurgency “in a fair fight.”


Good riddance General.


Major

Anonymous said...

More from our troops on McCrystal...

"Before the rules were tightened, one Army major who had commanded an infantry company said, “firefights in Afghanistan had a half-life.” By this he meant that skirmishes often were brief, lasting roughly a half-hour or a little more. The Taliban would ambush patrols and typically break contact and slip away as patrol leaders organized and escalated Western firepower in response.

Now, with fire support often restricted, or even idled, Taliban fighters seem noticeably less worried about an American response, many soldiers and Marines say. Firefights often drag on, sometimes lasting hours, and costing lives. The United States’ material advantages are not robustly applied; troops are engaged in rifle-on-rifle fights on their enemy’s turf.

One Marine infantry lieutenant, during fighting in Marja this year, said he had all but stopped seeking air support while engaged in firefights. He spent too much time on the radio trying to justify its need, he said, and the aircraft never arrived or they arrived too late or the pilots were reluctant to drop their ordnance.

“I’m better off just trying to fight my fight, and maneuver the squads, and not waste the time or focus trying to get air,” the officer said.


Let the light shine on this coward...this incompetent "general" that would sacrifice American lives for a few points with terrorist scum.

Major

Z said...

GOOD POINT, SILVRLADY..

Major..thanks for all that information. After all, he DID vote for Obama, so he can't be thinking real clearly, could he.

WOW....tomorrow will be quite a day. let's see what happens.

(((Thought Criminal))) said...

I'm not so harsh on McChrystal as Major is. He's not exactly of Eric Shenseki's or Wesley Clark's caliber of incompetence.

His hands are tied by the Obama administration. The ROEs are Obama's, not McChrystal's. He's gotten only 1/3rd of the troops he requested to do the job in Afghanistan, and even that took months to get after Obama fit running a war into his busy golf schedule. By then, what ever air supply and basing rights we had in neighboring countries was LOST by the diplomatic incompetence of Shrillary Clinton's State Department.

McChystal doesn't suffer fools gladly, and there are few fools as foolish as our Staple Gun Loader in Chief.

elmers brother said...

the masses have been played by the media, who hadn't even read the interview. It hadn't come out until yesterday afternoon.

there's an interesting take on it here.

http://www.mudvillegazette.com/

elmers brother said...

and here is the interview