Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Chrystal McClear


After reading the Rolling Stone article that's behind Gen. McChrystal's firing, I don't especially agree with the negative nature that the media attached to what was said. For example:

Here's McChrystal's bombshell that's been the headline on the news.....

According to sources familiar with the meeting, McChrystal thought Obama looked "uncomfortable and intimidated" by the roomful of military brass.

However when the same quip is read with the sentence preceding it in the same Rolling Stone article.....

The general first encountered Obama a week after he took office, when the president met with a dozen senior military officials in a room at the Pentagon known as the Tank. According to sources familiar with the meeting, McChrystal thought Obama looked "uncomfortable and intimidated" by the roomful of military brass.

It doesn't quite pack the same sting does it. In only his first week in office, it's understandable that Obama was perhaps a little in awe in the presence of the nation's top generals.


The other quip taken out of context....

"Obama clearly didn't know anything about him [Gen. McChrystal], who he was. Here's the guy who's going to run his fucking war, but he didn't seem very engaged."

Now cited along with the two sentences that preceded it in the same paragraph.... 

Their first one-on-one meeting took place in the Oval Office four months later, after McChrystal got the Afghanistan job, and it didn't go much better. "It was a 10-minute photo op," says an adviser to McChrystal. "Obama clearly didn't know anything about him, who he was. Here's the guy who's going to run his fucking war, but he didn't seem very engaged."

Obama probably didn't get around to reading Gen. McChrystal's Facebook page.

Source: Rolling Stone Magazine

Even though he had voted for Obama, McChrystal and his new commander in chief failed from the outset to connect. The general first encountered Obama a week after he took office, when the president met with a dozen senior military officials in a room at the Pentagon known as the Tank. According to sources familiar with the meeting, McChrystal thought Obama looked "uncomfortable and intimidated" by the roomful of military brass. Their first one-on-one meeting took place in the Oval Office four months later, after McChrystal got the Afghanistan job, and it didn't go much better. "It was a 10-minute photo op," says an adviser to McChrystal. According to sources familiar with the meeting, McChrystal thought Obama looked "uncomfortable and intimidated" by the roomful of military brass.The Boss was pretty disappointed."

6 comments:

Kay said...

Ohhhhh Peerrrrrrrfect!

RONW said...

Kay- I struggled over naming today's post, "Wordless Wednesday."

Anonymous said...

good riddance to mcchrystal. what a big mouth.

RONW said...

gigi- I'm only too sure that the Gen knew what he was getting himself into. He just had it with the paper tigers.

Kay said...

Oh Wow! I didn't see the rest of your post when it first came up. Seeing the rest of the Rolling Stone article does put a bit of a different feel to it.

However, it still doesn't excuse the general's disrespect which really went way beyond acceptable. His staff also showed equal disrespect, which indicates what the atmosphere around McChrystal was. I'm afraid he needed to go. Just the fact that he was mouthing off so much would show just how "smart" and lacking in judgement he was also.

RONW said...

Kay- what I'm really questioning is McChrystal's earlier recommendation to increase the troops in Afghanistan. He's aware that the number of civilian support personnel almost equals the number of soldiers, and just perhaps, McChrystal was taking care his friends in the defense (war) industry. Also, the soldiers are getting a hazard pay rate, when you total things up, $70,000+ tax free. It's morphed into a money war. Plus, if the same enlistees had stayed home, they might have even found themselves unemployed, and probably why many sign up for another tour. There's gold in them hills in Afghanistan.