By: T.F. Stern
T F Stern’s Rantings
Gen. Stanley McChrystal, our top U.S. war commander in Afghanistan, made the mistake of opening his mouth in front of the news media the other day; didn’t he ever watch the movie, Patton? It doesn’t matter if McChrystal had the best battlefield record or the worst at this point; he spoke out of turn on matters which don’t belong in print and that makes his position rather awkward if not untenable.
“McChrystal has been called to the White House Situation Room on Wednesday to explain his comments to the magazine directly to the president, a senior administration official told Fox News. Normally, he would appear on a conference call for a regular strategy session.”
Gen. McChrystal will need to stand patiently, hat in hand, as he watches his military career flushed down the toilet by men who aren’t fit to tie his shoe laces on the battlefield; such is the nature of politics. It might be fun to be a fly on the wall when McChrystal meets with the wolves back at the White House; their teeth bared, circling around waiting for the perfect moment to take him down.
There’s a line from the Wedding Crashers, one that fits the situation quite well, “You shut your mouth when you’re talking to me!” I can hear Obama belittle, demean and deride (is that redundant?) a decorated battlefield veteran as our commander and thief ( just a typo, ignore that), lectures McChrystal.
I have it from a reliable source that our troops, while under fire, must obtain permission from local government officials prior to engaging the enemy lest they accidentally take out unintended targets. They have been subjected to small arms fire accompanied by rocket propelled grenades and watched as their enemies run off and hide inside local residences. The mayor or head honcho of the town then explains that the folks who live in that particular house are good people and could not possibly have been involved; permission to engage denied. Is this any way to run a war?
The problem with leading our troops in Afghanistan has to do with understanding the goal. Our valiant men and women are in harms way, not to win; but to lose gracefully, tail tucked between our legs in a pleasing manner until our exit strategy calendar has timed out.
General McChrystal should use this opportunity as his exit strategy, do a “MacArthur” and simply fade away. The wolves will win the battle for McChrystal’s hide; but they are intent on losing the war.
This article has been cross posted to The Moral Liberal, a publication whose banner reads, “Defending The Judeo-Christian Ethic, Limited Government, & The American Constitution”.
