Obama Fires McChrystal, Now What?

Once again we saw a Barak Obama who looked angry, who was more animated than usual, who…looked more presidential(?) than at any time in his presidency. So what happened to bring about this radical change? One of his top generals, and/or his staff, had the audacity to talk to a left leaning newspaper about the Obama administration in a way which was not positive. Not exactly negative, but not positive either. General Stanley McChrystal did not challenge the authority of Barak Obama in any way. He did not violate the trust between them. He was not publicly insubordinate. He did not challenge the civilian control of the military. So what did he do that was so wrong? General McChrystal did kiss Obama’s a** like virtually everyone else does.

So if McChrystal did not violate any trust, then what happened? We all know Obama has very thin skin; he does not tolerate any non-kissing attitudes. There are those on the left say the General should not be unhappy with Obama’s Afghanistan policy, because the two are one and the same. Totally untrue. You can not hamstring the military and then say you are both on the same page. McChrystal has tried to discuss issues with the President, but so far no one has been listening. A challenge of ideas creates an atmosphere of more ideas. As far as Obama is concerned there is only one idea, his. All others are distractions and are therefore dangerous to the mission, is insubordinate, and challenge the civilian leadership of the military.

The war in Afghanistan must be won. Terrorists are out to kill and destroy us. McChrystal is a warrior’s warrior. He leads from the front. There is no doubt he wants win, no matter what. He has his priorities in the right order. He cares little for the politics in Washington which go with job of Commander in Afghanistan. Wining in Afghanistan both militarily and politically does matter. Barak Obama’s firing of McChrystal destabilized our efforts in the Afghanistan theater of war, while the nomination of General Petraeus’ helps to stabilize the area to some degree. But is it enough?

The issue is not General Stanley McChrystal, it’s the President. Obama’s thin skin and lack of toleration dissention is. His anger when announcing McChrystal’s departure proclaimed this loud and clear. Obama’s wounded ego allowed his to fall into this trap. As a result, this war in one fell swoop has become Barak Obama’s war. He now owns this war, win or lose. And he will either carry the burden or the accolades following the war.

What Obama needs to do is to study the Vietnam War. The US became mired in a war of attrition because of the interference of politicians in Washington, not because of decisions made by the boots on the ground. By canning McChrystal, the President is starting off like Johnson who did not try to win the war, but tried not to lose. In the end, he accomplished neither. Barak Obama is on track to attain the same. Obama need to get over his obsession with himself and realize there are more important things at stake—namely winning the war.