Now That McChrystal is Gone- Michael Yon Is Invited to Embed Again in Afghanistan
Posted by Jim Hoft on Friday, June 25, 2010, 4:55 AM
Liberal General Stanley McChrystal, commander of US forces in Afghanistan, banned Michael Yon from embedding in Afghanistan, but allowed a Rolling Stone reporter to roam free.
We all know how well that ended up for the general.
Yesterday, milblogger Michael Yon announced that he was invited to embed with US and British troops in Afghanistan again.
Michael Yon has been invited to embed again by both Great Britain and the US.Michael Yon isn’t a correspondent who sparks a neutral reaction in the reader. You either love him or you don’t. There’s not much of an in-between.
In April Yon’s embed in Afghanistan ended abruptly. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of US forces in Afghanistan, was in charge and some of Yon’s fans blamed the general. The official reason given was “overcrowding by journalists.”
In a dispatch announcing the change, Yon wrote, “Haven’t seen a journalist in weeks.”
In the preceding month, Yon had pulled no punches in his dispatches, criticizing Canadian Brig. Gen. Daniel Ménard who commanded Task Force Kandahar. Yon took some heat for that one too, until the truth came out.
A court martial found Menard guilty of accidentally firing a weapon while preparing to board a military helicopter in Kandahar—the shot allegedly came close to hitting Canada’s chief of defense as well as military vehicles. Then a female Canadian soldier confessed to having an inappropriate relationship with Ménard. The rest is history.
Yon said in an email: “Insofar as Menard, that guy allowed Tarnak River Bridge to be blown up. Lost Ian Gelig. Halted many operations for DAYS. Lied about it. ND’d with his rifle. Lied about it. Affair with enlisted subordinate… Good grief.”
Yon was speaking of Spc. Ian Gelig who was killed when the bridge was blown up by a suicide bomber. Other soldiers were wounded. Civilians were killed. Arguably, these were preventable deaths.
Not for the first time was Yon, in the face of skepticism, proved correct.
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Published May 24, 2012 at 8:46 pm - 89 Comments
Militant Conservative commented:
Sol Alinsky’s rules for radicals. ridicule is your most powerfull weapon. Remembe one of the put downs in the late sixties eary 70′s. You have any nude pictures of your mom? answer : no. Want some?
I have just received three pictures of Barak Obama’s mom……in the buff. No very wicked but this would be frount page stuff if it were Sarah. It WILL go viral. no pun intended. At some point the media will have to address this as we know sex and blood sells.
LOL, Obama I seen yo mamma, she was fine.
J commented:
Jimbo from Blackfive will have a severe meltdown over this.
befuddled commented:
it’s hard to go against someone, especially a general, who has paid his time in the service of his country. however, it doesn’t seem coincidental that the obama’s administration has promoted another obama liberal hack into high office. schadenfreude.
good for michael, whatever his liberal political leanings, at least he is a conservative patriot when he writes.
mainstream media has become pravda. i don’t trust them and certainly don’t want to demean myself by associating with a journalist. the 40′s and 50′s pushed good men and women into colleges with the gibill. now the colleges have been usurped by liberal zealots. i pray for michael and hope he is the forefather of modern journalism rather than an outlier.
alan commented:
And yet Yon was completely wrong on the Mexican gun traces and refuses to retract his mistaken reporting on the issue.
Yon is NOT always correct.
No Man commented:
Wild Blue Yon may want to inform ‘we the people’ on indirect US funding of ED’s and RPG’s hitting among the units where he’s embedded.
And on all the times air and arty are refused so as not to inconvenience taliban supporters.
neomom commented:
My dad was in Viet Nam. On more than one occasion unwanted, dangerous people placed in the unit often were killed in confusing firefights. This man should be no where near our troops.
Andreas K. commented:
Yon was on the ground with the Brits, going out on patrol with them. He was also on the ground with the Americans in Mosul. There’re a couple of photos from a firefight where their LT was hit right in front of Yon, while another bullet hits a wall right above the head o the second officer on the scene like maybe 2 meters in front of Yon. It seems that Yon picked up the M4 from a sergeant (who fought a terrorist hand to hand) and fired a couple of shots as well.
The troops, both Brits and Americans, seem to have no problems with Yon. He rides out on Strykers, into the thick of things. Something none of the “smart intellectuals” who scream about the war and what not would ever do.
Big Mo commented:
Great news! Along with Bill Roggio and Michael J. Totten, Michael Yon is this era’s Ernie Pyle. It’s a dispicable shame that such men are not given well-deserved Pulitzers for their amazing work.
thebronze commented:
Yon is a turd.
Bobbi commented:
Militant Conservative, are those the nude pics of Stanley when she was with Frank Marshall Davis in his apartment? If so, a photo-shop expert needs to corroborate whether they are authentic or photo-shops.
Bobbi commented:
are these the pics? http://astuteblogger.blogspot.com/2008/10/naughty-obama-mamma.html
They have been around for 2 -3 years. No one seems interested.
Taken in Davis apartment.
Bobbi commented:
at least Yon has a military background. Green Beret. Not like the liberal wimps Obama-Biden who weaseled their way out of doing anything that requires sacrifice.
unknown jane commented:
Yon has been a good reporter, but he is not infalllible nor perfect.
What is really getting to me is the dogwhistle attitude of many conservatives vis a vis General McCrystal. What is this? The minute you find out a leader didn’t vote the way you like and he goes from hero to zero? (look at what you were writing a few days ago, and look at the lead in to this post) Do our troops have to vote the right way in order to get your support?
I am not stating that McCrystal is above criticism and refute — but the quick flip and resulting snarks I have witnessed on many conservative blogs…well, it is very unseemly and isn’t winning you many points.
Solaratov commented:
unknown jane
June 25th, 2010 | 10:28 am | #15
Jane ~ A lot of the snark directed at McChrystal is coming from leftoid trolls. They are trying to denigrate McC in advance of any statement he may make or book/articles he may write that would reflect badly on obama. No matter what they have to do, the name of the game is “protect barry” – and that would include trying to destroy a good man who has spent quite a few years serving our country.
Personally, I have never been a fan of McChrystal, simply because – for all of his “expertise” in COIN – he has *never* been in combat or on an active operation with specops units. (And that by his own admission) Though he has sent men into combat and on “black” missions.
I don’t understand how anyone could spend so many years in specops – not to mention, rise to four stars – and never see combat.
I believe that anyone tasked with commanding troops in combat should have met the elephant at least once – just so that he understands what goes on out on the pointy end of the spear.
bg commented:
++
unknown jane @ 10:28 am #15
conservative blogs are not immune to infiltration..
bottom line:
albeit may have been mentioned, please note that true adult conservatives who post in here did not base their opinions (one way or another) on who McChrystal voted for..
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bg commented:
++
alan @ 6:18 am #5
albeit MY is a terrific (one hell of a) reporter..
honesty is one thing.. however, what we must also take
into account is MY’s opinions do filter into his reports..
ergo, i concur..
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bg commented:
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Big Mo @ 7:26 am #9
Amen!!
(always consulted B Roggio & M Totten, M Yon, not so much (except on
Iraq).. but then again, he was banned, looking forward to his reports..)
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unknown jane commented:
Sorry Bg, but I read the first line of this post — and the thing that jumps out? “LIBERAL General”.
Sorry, I don’t remember the way the man voted or his political ideology being such a big thing when conservatives thought he might be on their “side” (and really, that sort of interpretation of all things military needs to stop — they are just as free to have their own political opinions as anybody…as long as they are doing their job, and for whatever else I will note General McCrystal did his job — certainly didn’t let his supposed political leanings get in the way of serving under Bush, now did he?).
It’s ridiculous; the military is not for civilians to use as a political tool; they serve us, but we should be a bit more considerate in how we ask them to serve. No?
bg commented:
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re: bg #20
forgot to mention Greyhawk @ The Mudville Gazette..
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bg commented:
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unknown jane @ 12:12 pm #21
Liberal General does not translate to “voted for Obama”..
which was not only the basis of your contempt, but
an attempt, imo, to demean Conservative posters..
re:[It’s ridiculous; the military is not for civilians
to use as a political tool; they serve us,]
oh i agree, President Obama et al had/have no right to politicize the military (which they did under Bush as well).. but he/they did, he/they do, and he/they will continue to divide US any which way he can.. Obama hates
the US Military who not only keep US Free, but help to liberate many others, Bush loves the Military..
re: [but we should be a bit more considerate
in how we ask them to serve. No?]
albeit i may have answered your question already,
at any rate, exactly what do you mean by that??
and btw, please note GP is not one of the posters in here.. if you have a beef with GP, that’s one thing, but it’s not fair to take it out on everyone in here,
as we have no control over GP’s title choices (some of which i admit, are not my cup of tea so to speak)..
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bg commented:
++
re: bg #23
McChrystal, ROEs and COIN
[Perhaps the most interesting section of the article deals with McChrystal’s controversial rules of engagement, which many troops have criticized as overly restrictive. It contains a revealing quote by the general as he tries to convince some front line soldiers that his ROEs will work. It exhibits the essential contradiction of COIN. First, you have to clear — which means killing the armed bad guys — so that you can then hold and build. “You have to show strength here, you have to use fire. What I’m telling you is, fire costs you. What do you want to do? You want to wipe out the population out here and resettle it?”]
ergo
(note, not my opinion/s, as i am not there serving..)
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bg commented:
++
unknown jane @ 12:12 pm #21
oh btw, Obama put McChrystal in charge of war in Afghanistan..
[On May 11, 2009 -- less than four months after being sworn in -- Obama ousted Gen. David D. McKiernan, the top American commander in Afghanistan, and installed McChrystal. It was widely seen as a deliberate shake-up designed to improve the execution of the long-running war. In announcing the move, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that ''fresh eyes were needed'' and that ''a new approach was probably in our best interest.'']
it was President Bush who put General
Petraeus in charge of the war in Iraq..
if they are “wrongfully” charging Bush for McChrystal, will they “rightfully” credit Bush for Petraeus’ assignment of which they all “politically bashed”??
==
Militant Conservative commented:
Yup, those were the pictures.
are these the pics? http://astuteblogger.blogspot.com/2008/10/naughty-obama-mamma.html
never saw them till now. photoshopped?
unknown jane commented:
What I am saying is: the “liberals”/Democrats have been guilty of viewing the military as a political tool (with their bashing of it) and have always endeavored to find a way to turn it into their toothless lapdog that will do their parlor trick bidding; I would hope that conservative/Republicans would decide not to follow the same course — unfortunately, from what I have read in several blog sites, is that many are just as susceptible to the thinking that the military should all adhere to their way of thinking and do their bidding above all else.
That sort of mindset does not bode well for a free society; a politicized military is not a good idea. Perhaps it would be best to leave any appellations concerning any general or troop’s voting record or political beliefs out of the debate, and merely focus on whether or not they have done their jobs?
Opaobie commented:
Whose Rules of Engagement are these, and who is responsible for the actual implementation of them, Obama or the Commanding General? Conservatives, Liberals, and thre-leeged-dogs should be outraged that the following is being allowed. McChrystal abided it, so he is at least culpable. Both the CiC and the Commanding General should be fired if they allow it to continue.
o Commanders have ordered U.S. military units in Afghanistan to patrol with unloaded weapons (conduct patrols without a round chambered in their weapons). “The idea that any combat unit would conduct any operation, including patrolling and even manning a security post—in which direct action may take place — and not having weapons loaded, borders on being criminally negligent in my opinion,” says Lt. Col. W. Thomas Smith Jr., a recognized expert on terrorism and military issues. “This is nothing more than infusing politically correct restrictions into already overly restrictive rules of engagement. And this PC nonsense is going to get people killed.”
o 4 US Marines Die After Walking Into Taliban Ambush…DENIED Artillery Support Because of Obama Administration’s New Rules of Engagement…. U.S. commanders, citing new rules to avoid civilian casualties, rejected repeated calls to unleash artillery rounds at attackers dug into the slopes and tree lines — despite being told repeatedly that they weren’t near the village.
The Marines were cut down as they sought cover in a trench at the base of the village’s first layer cake-style stone house. Much of their ammunition was gone. One Marine was bending over a second, tending his wounds, when both were killed, said Marine Cpl. Dakota Meyer, 21, of Greensburg, Ky., who retrieved their bodies.
o 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.”
On another mission, some Afghan adults ran off with their children immediately before the NCO’s unit came under heavy small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), and the unit asked for artillery fire on the enemy position. The response was a question: Where is the nearest civilian structure? “Judging distances,” the NCO writes dryly, “can be difficult when bullets and RPGs are flying over your head.” When the artillery support was denied because of fear of collateral damage, the unit asked for a “smoke mission” — like an illumination round; only the canister falls to earth — “to conceal our movement as we planned to flank and destroy the enemy.” This request was granted — but because of fear of collateral damage, the round was deliberately fired one kilometer off the requested site, making “the smoke mission useless and leaving us to fend for ourselves.”
…and there are scores of similar reports, but these make the point.
jonyjoe101 commented:
Canadians need to get there act together. They have no weapons safety training. They should have took the generals handgun away before he hurts someone.
bg commented:
++
unknown jane @ 2:19 pm #27
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