McChrystal Draws Support, Scorn on Capitol Hill
What's the right way for a top general to advise the president about wartime strategy? What if his recommended strategy is potentially at odds with the president's preferred course of action? Gen. Stanley McChrystal ran up against these questions in recent days, and not everyone in Washington thinks he handled his part in the matter appropriately.
What’s the right way for a top general to advise the president about wartime strategy? What if his recommended strategy is potentially at odds with the president’s preferred course of action? Gen. Stanley McChrystal ran up against these questions in recent days, and not everyone in Washington thinks he handled his part in the matter appropriately. However, McChrystal has a few supporters as well, such as (perhaps unsurprisingly) President Obama’s onetime rival, Sen. John McCain. –KA
WAIT BEFORE YOU GO...Reuters via Google News:
Since then, McChrystal has met privately with President Barack Obama during Obama’s quick trip to Copenhagen last Friday, a session White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said was constructive.
He has been publicly flogged by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who on Monday without mentioning his name said it was best for civilian and military leaders to “provide our best advice to the president candidly but privately.”
And the White House national security adviser, retired General Jim Jones, scolded McChrystal, telling CBS’ “Face the Nation” program that McChrystal’s Afghan assessment was his “opinion” and that, “The president should be presented with options, not just one fait accompli.”
This year, the ground feels uncertain — facts are buried and those in power are working to keep them hidden. Now more than ever, independent journalism must go beneath the surface.
At Truthdig, we don’t just report what's happening — we investigate how and why. We follow the threads others leave behind and uncover the forces shaping our future.
Your tax-deductible donation fuels journalism that asks harder questions and digs where others won’t.
Don’t settle for surface-level coverage.
Unearth what matters. Help dig deeper.
Donate now.
Middle East
What did we think nearly 50 years of war and neglect was going to do to the country?
Middle East
What some in Joe Biden's administration appear to see as an opportunity to sideline Hezbollah is really a trap destined for failure.
TD Interview
A new book offers a personal and political history of Bush-era America and its imprints on the present.
Film
With unprecedented access to the Taliban, the documentary “Hollywoodgate” makes promises it can’t keep.
Wounds of War
Over the decades, the DoD has been responsible for the deaths of scores of civilians, but compensating those harmed has never been a serious priority.
Opinion
Where’s the headline-making outrage over the never-ending travesty of Gitmo?
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.