Afghan Gen. McChrystal on Obama: "Unimpressed" With His "10 Minute Photo Ops" …Update: President Thin-Skin Calls McChrystal to White House
Posted by Jim Hoft on Tuesday, June 22, 2010, 4:54 AM
Top Afghaninstan General Stanley McChrystal is in hot water after mocking Vice President Joe Biden and President Obama in a Rolling Stone article this month.
Of course, nothing McChrystal said in the article about the Obama Administration was untrue. That’s what makes it so embarrassing for Team O.
The AFP reported:
General Stanley McChrystal and the White House are on full display in the unflattering article in Rolling Stone, but the general said it was all a mistake.
“I extend my sincerest apology for this profile,” McChrystal said in a statement issued hours after the article was released.
“It was a mistake reflecting poor judgment and should never happened.”
…In the profile, McChrystal jokes sarcastically about preparing to answer a question referring to Vice President Joe Biden, known as a skeptic of the commander’s war strategy.
“‘Are you asking about Vice President Biden?’ McChrystal says with a laugh. ‘Who’s that?’” the article quotes him as saying.
“‘Biden?’ suggests a top adviser. ‘Did you say: Bite Me?’”
McChrystal tells the magazine that he felt “betrayed” by the US ambassador to Kabul, Karl Eikenberry, in a White House debate over war strategy last year.
Referring to a leaked internal memo from Eikenberry that questioned McChrystal’s request for more troops, the commander suggested the ambassador had tried to protect himself for history’s sake.
“I like Karl, I’ve known him for years, but they’d never said anything like that to us before,” McChrystal tells the magazine.
“Here’s one that covers his flank for the history books. Now if we fail, they can say, ‘I told you so.’”
Eikenberry, himself a former commander in Afghanistan, had written to the White House saying Afghan President Hamid Karzai was an unreliable partner and that a surge of troops could draw the United States into a open-ended quagmire.
The article revisits the friction between the White House and the military last fall as Obama debated whether to grant McChrystal’s request for tens of thousands of reinforcements.
Although Obama in the end granted most of what McChrystal asked for, the strategy review was a difficult time, the general tells the magazine.
“I found that time painful,” McChrystal says. “I was selling an unsellable position.”
An unnamed adviser to McChrystal alleges the general came away unimpressed after a meeting with Obama in the Oval Office a year ago.
“It was a 10-minute photo op,” the general’s adviser says.
“Obama clearly didn?t know anything about him, who he was… he didn’t seem very engaged.
“The boss was pretty disappointed,” says the adviser.
UPDATE: President Thin Skin called General McChrystal to the White House today after the release of the Rolling Stone article.
FOX News reported:
The top U.S. war commander in Afghanistan is being called to the White House for a face-to-face meeting with President Obama after issuing an apology Tuesday for an interview in which he described the president as unprepared for their first meeting.
In the article in this week’s issue of Rolling Stone, Gen. Stanley McChrystal also said he felt betrayed and blind-sided by his diplomatic partner, Ambassador Karl Eikenberry.
McChrystal’s comments are reverberating through Washington and the Pentagon after the magazine depicted him as a lone wolf on the outs with many important figures in the Obama administration.
It characterized him as unable to convince some of his own soldiers that his strategy can win the nation’s longest-running war and dejected that the president didn’t know about his commendable military record.
In Kabul on Tuesday, McChrystal issued a statement saying: “I extend my sincerest apology for this profile. It was a mistake reflecting poor judgment and should never have happened.”
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.
McChrystal also called Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen late Monday to apologize. Mullen told the general he was deeply disappointed, according to a senior military official at the Pentagon.
It looks like Team O is going to browbeat McChrystal for telling the truth that we all know. The Community Organizer in Chief is an utter failure at war, too.
Sad.
UPDATE: Jules Crittenden added this:
He should have just stuck with the Biden jokes. He’d still be sticking pins in maps in Bagram.
Sure hope this distraction doesn’t compromise combat operations, get anyone killed for no reason, anything like that, over something stupid like egos and politics. Then again, they’re already working with a three-quarters surge with a deadline …
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Published February 8, 2012 at 8:42 pm - 108 Comments
BigAlSouth commented:
That is the type of interview one makes when there is nothing felt but frustration with the O-Admin. It’s THE ROLLING STONE for crying out loud. The RS had their mag’s nose so far up the O’s butt in the election cycle their breathing was synchronized.
Oh well. Most generals are not very skilled politicians and thankfully so.
Iconoclast commented:
General McChrystal only gave voice to what is patently obvious. Dum0ne is naught but an empty suit.
Unquestionably, the Founding Fathers made one systemic mistake with the Constitution – they did not designate “gross incompetence” as grounds for impeachment. But they cannot be blamed for this – how could any rational, educated person in the 18th Century predict an educated (theoretically) electorate selecting such cowardly incompetents as jimmuh piddle pants and this execrably foul joke to lead this nation?
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J commented:
Generals are highly political animals. This is the second “frank” discussion/letter McChrystal has given/leaked.
This last one is a doozy and I think, shows us that this general is on his way out.
They need a better stooge to take the fall for our defeat.
Amy Proctor commented:
Jim, this is exactly what the majority of the military says about Barack Obama behind his back in private. This is the consensus. We think Biden is a joke, Barack is a photo op commander in chief with no real dog in the fight or interest in protecting our country. In fact, many of us believe he hates America, based on the many statements he’s made and actions he’s taken over the past 2 years.
This administration is a complete disaster on every level.
Amy Proctor commented:
Oh, and one more thing. For those of us serving overseas in precarious locations (my husband’s active duty and we’re living in South Korea… what’s Obama doing to address the North Korean threat but NOTHING??), humor helps us keep sane. McChrystal was betrayed by the entire Obama administration, as are all of those who serve in the military as well as military families.
If I didn’t have Mark Levin to listen to go give me a belly laugh every day I would be depressed out of my mind. So if McChrystal has a make some jokes behind closed doors, so be it. The reality is that he has been publicly criticized by this people in this administration.
Bill B commented:
With all the staff tagging along behind this guy, wouldn’t you think that one of them would tap him on the shoulder and say, “Uh, sir, this is not a good idea.”?
On the other hand, the same can be said for BHO on uncountable subjects.
regularguy commented:
Amy is correct. This administration is a complete disaster. Unfortunately, people will die and careers ruined as part of the aftermath. We are in for a rough ride. Personally, millions who voted for him and his madness, as well as his party, will never take responsibility for their irresponsibility and would hold their heads in shame if they had any. This country is forked by the sheer intellectual/political laziness of her electorate, saved only by the mortal sacrifices of military personnel too good for them.
newton commented:
Amy,
McChrystal is going to be a very public victim of the gang of thieves that occupy this White House. He will probably be stripped of everything he has and then some, for daring to criticize The One.
When they’re finished with him, the Armed Forces are finally going to “get it”: you joke about The One, even in private, and you’re going to endure Torquemada.
Obama and his Merry Band of Thieves know (and I mean, KNOW) they have ZERO FRIENDS in our military. If they can make an example out of one general, they’ll do it.
bill-tb commented:
So our dufoos in chief doesn’t know anything about the economy, oil spill, energy, jobs … So tell me why he would know anything about the war?
Salute the General, he is going out shooting.
Agent99 commented:
JIM …AN UPDATE via WeaselZippers via BBC “The top US commander in Afghanistan has been summoned to Washington, US media report, in the wake of a magazine article that mocked senior Obama administration officials and diplomats. . ” LINK HERE http://weaselzippers.us/2010/06/22/u-s-gen-stanley-mcchrystal-summoned-to-washington-to-answer-to-obama-for-statements-in-%e2%80%9crolling-stone%e2%80%9d-article/ OR LINK HERE VIA BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/us_and_canada/10372558.stm
Agent99 commented:
NEWTON @ # 11 YEP!! Summoned to WH as I type to “ANSWER” to Obama! ***SEE LINKS ABOVE***
neomom commented:
I live within a few miles of 2 Marine Bases. Across the street I have a Cobra Pilot and a CH 53 pilot. Next door, a scout sniper. Nice Men with young families. After a few beers and the polite pretense is dropped. As stated by the young sniper, the only difference between the President and the enemy is “sometimes” we are allowed to kill the enemy. They are both dangerous to the troops. Find a soldier or Marine and get them to talk, beer helps, you will learn how much the “Rules of engagement” hurts our troops ability to fight and puts them at far greater risk. You will learn about the lack of equipment. You will learn about faulty equipment bought from contractors that are big Dem political contributors. Stanley Mac has had it with amateur hour.
Ebayer commented:
McChrystal is the boy in the crowd who yells,”The Emperor has no clothes”.
We’re finally able to see a little light shine through a crack in the walls of secrecy built up around this usurper.
The light of truth is a good disinfectant.
WRJonas commented:
They’ll put his retirement on the end of a sharp stick and lead him around the pen for awhile why they all try to kick him.
Obama has no vision , no instincts , no clue.He is a vain repulsive puppet dancing on George Soros strings.
Mike commented:
Have to agree with many of the posters here. Except for those servicemembers who are not paying attention (a depressingly large number, I’m afraid) and the Kool-Aid drinkers, McChrystal’s views are pretty much conventional wisdom in military circles.
We are well on the way to losing the war in Afghanistan. The WH just said the other day that the date of withdrawal for next year is firm. Seeing the writing on the wall, Karzai is making deals with al-Qaeda and the Taliban. I imagine he doesn’t want to meet the same fate as the last President of Afghanistan, Najibullah: tortured, killed, and hung from a traffic light. Can’t say that I blame him…
You know what they say about America: “No better enemy, no more treacherous friend”. (That ditty was coined after Vietnam, by the way.)
Angela commented:
Well, now we know how to get Obama to meet *quickly* with military commanders.
Jack commented:
McChrystal voted for the O, now I guess he’s having second thoughts. Bring the troops home. Hire private armies.
katablog.com commented:
Obama will fire him – McChrystal is probably hoping he will. After all, it’s impossible to lead troops without the support of the administration. To sit there and watch the troops suffer due to politics has to be excruciating for a good general.
Opus #6 commented:
Gen McChrystal, America agrees with you. That is why Obama is furious. The truth hurts.
Steve B commented:
Undoubtedly what Gen McCrystal said stands as pretty much conventional wisdom these days. That doesn’t change the fact that, like it or not, Barack Obama is his Commander in Chief, and for a serving 4-star in an active command role to make comments like that open-source is a big no-no.
I completely agree with the Generals comments, frustration, and overall sentiments. However, military members are very constrained in what they can say about their political superiors.
He screwed up.
Militant Conservative commented:
Obama is not incompetent. All that he does is with willfull intent, guided by the Alinsky rules. This is why the General is being summoned home, he broke an Alinsky rule. “control the discourse”. One thing he cannot force anyone, ESPECIALLY the millitary, to do.
you cannot force respect, it is earned. All Obama has earned is the disrespect of this country. I for one dispise him. powder is dry.
Hatless Hessian commented:
Have we ever seen someone kick so many asses with such little effect? Obama’s got the intimidating powers of Urkel.
cedarhill commented:
If McChrystal stays it will be because he’s the designated scapegoat for Afghanistan. If he’s tossed it will be because Obama wants to do a pre-emptive strike against Petraeus to discredit Petraeus for any possible run in 2012. My bet is McChrystal is so craven (gee whiz, he voted for Obama) that he’ll gladly accept the scapegoat and bashing.
Of course, there is a slight chance that Obama is just needs a golf companion.
HandyBill commented:
Isnt it about time for the military to take things into their own hands? They need to send this third world dictator packing to South America with the rest of his Marxist friends.
Ginger commented:
Maybe Gen. McCrystal will join Col. Larkin in exposing the evil fraud in the white house. Power in numbers!
Sojourner commented:
Amy Proctor/#7 says..’this administration is a complete disaster on every level’..
Amy, I could not agree more. God bless.
olm commented:
In a way good for the general. Nice to see someone with balls. Nice to see Barry angry too. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.
Pull the troops out now.
Al commented:
So when is the military going to step up and challenge the usurper?
Rock commented:
As noted above, the only way our Military leaders seem to be able to get a audience with the One is by being part of the inner circle or criticizing his holiness. Who remembers the forty-minute meeting of the minds last year on Air Force One, and why it even happened? This whole incident may well demonstrate whether the Military leadership in D.C. is more concerned with their own future, or the Nations safety. I have no such reservation for the vast majority of the members of our Military community, however far to many who end up with postings in the Nations Capital seem to forget their roots and oaths. A takeover of our Government by a Manchurian Candidate, or a 7 days in May scenario no longer seems to be the stuff of fiction. Which begs the question, rule by leadership that honors our roots, or by that which seeks our destruction, which is more offensive? The difficulty only lays with differentiating between the two. Of course the President did say, judge him by who he surrounds himself with.
Final did the General cross a line, probably but how many lines has Obama crossed, and which do you find more egregious?
Jerry C commented:
#19 Angela
Amen. Sad but so true.
jorgen commented:
“McChrystal has been called to the White House Situation Room on Wednesday to explain his comments to the magazine directly to the president”
Here we can see the reason for Obama’s underperformance in whatever he does: he does not understand simple sentences, but have to have them explained.
noislamocommie commented:
This is good news…he’s released from the Treasonists. He would be a great asset on the border protecting Americans,guess he will have to get hired by a tenth-amendment Governor.
Robert commented:
These few remarks are probably side jokes or typical banter from out in the field. They are probably taken from many hours of contact the reporter had with the troops, some in informal situations. You would hear this and worse at any military installation in the country I am sure, and some of that would even be independent of whomever the Commander in Chief was. A time-honored tradition of military service is griping about and mocking the next-higher person in the chain of command.
This affair fits the very definition of a tempest in a teapot.
The true tragedy here is that our young men and women are asked to risk, and some losing, their lives by exercising restraint rather than engaging in battle.
Bunni commented:
General McChrystal for President!
I wish this would happen:
http://cheezburger.com/Amusing_Bunni/lolz/View/3666511616
Stanley commented:
Don’t call a shakedown a shakedown, and don’t expose this administrations contributions to the killing of American lives. That’s a hell of code to live by! Hell No! Truth Yes!
Taxpayer1234 commented:
McChrystal probably wants to retire, anyway. Might as well go out with guns ablazin’. I know I would.
Charlie commented:
Perhaps, now just perhaps, this was a premeditated “lapse in judgment” designed to bring media focus on the ineptitude in the White House.
Without seeing what McChrystal actually said, it’s impossible to know if it was insubordination or not. Even if it was, perhaps the general decided to sacrifice himself in order to bring, shall we say, “certain matters” into the news for in-depth coverage.
This could be, in fact, a plot to get rid of Obama sooner rather than later.
pm commented:
Agreeing to a Rolling Stones interview was not the best move.
Not knowing anything about these military guys, I can only say if McC. voted for Obama, then, right there, you gotta know the man lacks judgment.
And I thought I read at one of the Drudge links that McC. is the one who’s given our guys the lousy ROE. That one makes me especially ill.
But exposing BO and team for what they are? It can’t happen often enough.
bg commented:
++
A Negotiated Solution for Afghanistan?
[For starters, Mr. Karzai has recently indicated an interest in exonerating
a number of insurgent prisoners as a gesture of good faith towards the resistance. Agreeing with Gen. Stanley McChrystal that we cannot kill our way out of this insurgency, he is exploring ways to change the atmosphere
in Afghanistan.
[..]
We also need to think hard about amnesty and political rehabilitation for insurgents who are not in captivity. Consider this scenario: Two or three midlevel insurgent commanders, each commanding the loyalty of a few hundred full-time fighters and a few thousand tribesmen, promise to stop fighting if Mr. Karzai offers them positions in local government. Perhaps the smaller leaders want to be governors of districts in the south or east, and a bigger one wants to be governor of an entire province like Zabul. It’s not out of the question that Mr. Karzai will consider striking such a deal.
[..]
Reconciliation in Afghanistan will be tricky. But whatever Mr. Karzai’s other flaws or weaknesses, we needn’t lose too much sleep over the possibility that he will be duped into running up the white flag at the negotiating table. He cares too much about remaining president, building up the country, and avoiding assassination and protecting his friends to be so cavalier about such a key matter of realpolitik.]
eh, trust the enemy, hand em political power, what a novel idea, oh wait..
==
jenny commented:
I don’t think this criticism was an accident. McChrystal should tell Obama to stick it where the sun don’t shine in person.
The next real Commander in Chief can give him a medal of honor.
down with dems commented:
C’mon military, you hate your CIC… your general has opened the door… 2012 is too far away.
jorgen commented:
“General McChrystal for President!”
Aer you sure? I seem to remember that McChrystal voted for Obama – which I suppose is why he found it OK to do an interview with Rolling Stone.
Jeremiah commented:
McChrystal can’t say what he said about a sitting president. He broke an unstated oath that has been a core value and deep belief of our servicemen. I don’t even want something bad said about that clown Biden.
I have mixed emotions on this one. The general kind of shamed himself-still we have a president who won’t let us kill the enemy in a war where it is the single most important thing to do.
I hate malibu. There’s no doubt that his actions (stalling/engagement) have directly led to our serviceman getting killed.
Scott commented:
As a retired Marine Officer, I applaud LtGen McCrystal’s frank commentary…We should have a revolt of the Generals and Admirals…Obama’s photo-op leadership as Commander in Chief is a travesty. Troops are dying in combat for a Commander who spends more time golfing and partying than working. True Commanders will fight like lions for their combatants with an eye on total victory and returning troops to the homefront…Obama and Joe (let’s divide Iraq into three parts) Biden are two fools in way over their heads in terms of intellect, leadership, and moral caliber…Senior military officers are not known for this kind of candor as they are quite often too concerned with furthering their own careers to say what they really mean…So, I applaud McCrystal’s revolt and welcome more frank comments from senior leadership…
bg commented:
++
Jeremiah 12:05 pm #50
flashback:
Media Promoted Military Criticism of President Bush
[They are not concerned with whether his critiques are accurate, in stark contrast to other military officers' critiques of war policy under the Bush administration.
During Bush's tenure, active duty generals that spoke out against administration policy were portrayed as courageous whistleblowers.
Retired generals were treated as ever-wise sages of military policy.
None were scrutinized as McChrystal, pictured right, has been in the
hours since Rolling Stone released its article.
The most prominent active duty general to earn the media's affection was Gen. Eric Shinseki, current Secretary of Veterans Affairs (to the media's delight). He insisted in 2003 that, contrary to Defense Department policy as iterated by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the United States would need to send "hundreds of thousands" of troops to Iraq during the initial invasion. The media ate it up.]
links @ link..
==
bg commented:
++
Scott @ 3:57 pm #52
Thank You & Amen Scott!!
ht Chisum via another thread..
Obama’s Rules of Engagement In Afghanistan Will Ensure Our Failure
[… occasionally there are riveting communications, such as a recent e-mail from a noncommissioned officer (NCO) serving in Afghanistan. He explains why the rules of engagement for U.S. troops are “too prohibitive for coalition forces to achieve sustained tactical successes.”
Receiving mortar fire during an overnight mission, his unit called for a 155mm howitzer illumination round to be fired to reveal the enemy’s location. The request was rejected “on the grounds that it may cause collateral damage.” The NCO says that the only thing that comes down from an illumination round is a canister, and the likelihood of it hitting someone or something was akin to that of being struck by lightning.
Returning from a mission, his unit took casualties from an improvised explosive device that the unit knew had been placed no more than an hour earlier. “There were villagers laughing at the U.S. casualties” and “two suspicious individuals were seen fleeing the scene and entering a home.” U.S. forces “are no longer allowed to search homes without Afghan National Security Forces personnel present.” But when his unit asked Afghan police to search the house, the police refused on the grounds that the people in the house “are good people.”]
a previous comment of mine as well:
Bush not only consumed all blame, but gave the commanders all the
leverage they needed to conduct the war as they saw fit.. we won Iraq,
and albeit not winning, we weren’t losing Afghanistan..
Obama not only took control of operations, but continually assigns blame elsewhere, and refuses to let the commandeers run the war in such a manner that we would (gasp) win it.. quite the opposite, he’s interfered so much that the consensus on the ground & elsewhere is we are losing the war..
==
bg commented:
++
Jeremiah 12:05 pm #50
a few more sample’s:
[In April 2006, six prominent retired generals publicly criticized Secretary
of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's handling of the war, and called for his resignation. The group included two generals who commanded troops in Iraq: Maj. Gen. Charles H. Swannack, Jr. (Ret.) and Maj. Gen. John Batiste (Ret.). One of the generals, Lieut. Gen. Greg Newbold (Ret.), who served as the Pentagon's top operations officer during the months leading up to the invasion, also published an article that month in Time Magazine entitled "Why Iraq Was a Mistake."
On September 12, 2007, two retired U.S. Army generals, Lt. Gen. Robert Gard and Brig. Gen. John Johns, joined former Sen. Gary Hart in publishing a statement calling for withdrawal from Iraq. Robert Gard is the Senior Military Fellow at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, John Johns is on the board of directors for the Council for a Livable World, and Gary Hart is the Council's chairman.]
In October 2007, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, former commander of coalition forces in Iraq, called the 2007 “surge” a “flawed strategy”, and suggested that the political leadership in the US would have been court martialed for their actions, had they been military personnel.]
[standard disclaimer: source Wikipedia]
==
Ken commented:
The 2012 election will take care of Obama. Until then, he is commander in chief — he says “jump”, generals and admirals say “how high?” Members of the military do not go public with complaints over defense policy while on active duty. This is as important to our liberties as the Bill of Rights.
This general needs to be fired.
bg commented:
++
sliderblaze @ 2:38 pm #44
McCRYSTAL to RESIGN TUESDAY (Re-updated) Confirmed
the troops will not be happy.. now i can only hope &
pray hope he leaks like a sieve (aka: whistle-blower)..
sad day for US & Afghanistan, extremely sad.. *sigh*
==
James Hess commented:
Hope they fire his ass. Him and his immature aides need to grow up and grow a pair, talking behind Obama’s back that way. What a bunch of p*ssys.
rottnkid commented:
Obama isn’t gonna lose 2012. Period.
Chisum commented:
“Obama isn’t gonna lose 2012. Period.”
++++++++++++++++++
Bwahaha.