Who's in Charge?
It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to,cry if I want to, cry if I want to
You would cry too if it happened to you
--Cry if I Want To, Lesley Gore
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Since McChrystal was the Commander of allied forces in Afghanistan, then how did Obama gain the exclusive right to relieve him?
Since this is ostensibly a NATO command, shouldn't the involved NATO members have a say in the matter? This unilateral action indicates that this theatre of action is not an allied effort.
It is an Obama show.
Labels: afghanistan, mcchrystal, NATO
posted by rangeragainstwar at 9:47 AM
20 Comments:
Hi Jim and Lisa,
Amen! Not only that, but I keep hearing mention that Congress "confirmed" McChrystal and will now have to "confirm" Patraeus. So when did Congress "unconfirm" McChrystal?
Did you read the Rolling Stone Article? Good read, but depressing.
Dave
Dave,
How does one unconfirm a 4 star?
I reckon by making him retire as a LTG since he didn't hold the billet for a required period.
No i didn't read the article, but i must ask how it could come to this- didn't Centcom and Gates know the command climate in Mc C's HQ?
If they didn't then they should be relieved, and if they did then they should be relieved. Why is this point not being discussed?
Just what i need - another depressing story.
Thanks for staying with us.
Hope to meet you someday.
I'll buy.
jim
Dave,
PS-Janis Karpinsky was demoted and forced to retire as an 06, not an 07.
She commanded Abu Ghraib as a reserve BG.
jim.
Dave,
I just read the art. in toto.
There's nothing in it that we haven't said in RAW.
And yes it is depressing , therefore my writings must be depressing.
Now that's a cheerful thought.
jim
Dave,
If i had to boil the RS art down to it's essence i'd have to conclude that Mc C is a punk ass surrounded by punk asses.
The art also supports my low opinion of WP'ers and the WPPA.
jim
Hi Jim,
I'm not sure that replacing a punk ass with a suck ass will be a better color of lipstick for the pig.
Senator plans to expedite Petraeus' confirmation
"Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., plans to hold a confirmation hearing by Tuesday for Army Gen. David Petraeus to become the commander of U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan."
Isn't Obama the commander in chief? Doesn't he have the authority to hire/fire his generals? What would have happened if McChrystal hadn't "offered his resignation". Would the Senate have had to fire him?
Dave
P.S. Although you deal mostly with depressing subjects, your and Lisa's writing is never depressing. You're at the top of my favorites menu and since I'm back to work, you're sometimes the only blog I have time to read.
To be fair, and to play Devil's Advocate, if you're dumb enough to get your pants pulled down by a Rolling Stone reporter, perhaps you aren't wily enough to run a counterinsurgency operation in Afghanistan.
Or maybe he saw the writing on the wall, and would rather a short term black eye than going down in history as the one without a chair when the music stops on this Afghanistan thing? Bud light lime is his favorite beer and he sees his wife 30 days a year, maybe he wanted to drink a beer and get some action.
UC,
Thank you for your compliment -- it makes me happy :)
[I was just thinking the same thing: Bloody depressing stuff, but I try and say it in a cheery -- or highly ironic -- way.]
Dave,
I believe that the POTUS can relieve any officer, but legally speaking that Officer could request a Court Martial if the action were questionable.
In this case Mc C was in violation of UCMJ. However i believe this is a violation of the Constitution since all Americans are granted free speech, even if it's truth is rediculing civilians etc..
I know of no provision in the Constitution that limits the rights of soldiers. Strangely we fight for freedom for others, but we get bit on the ass for talking even the truth.
Also Dave these Generals are NOT Obamas, they are OURS.
Personally although trash talk was in the entire article , I'm not so sure that this was at a level that deservede relief. If you notice Mc C only apologised for the lack of judgement of his comments, AND NOT THE CONTENT. Did ya notice this little fact?
If we are your favorite blog then you are reqd to tithe.
jim
Dave,
I need to talk a little more about relief for cause.
Sven Ortmann made a reply about our Nato allies and their view of this tempest in a teacup.
Yes , O can relieve any General , BUT in alliance wars it'd be good form to have the concurance of the engaged nations, most of which want to leave the sinking ship.
I think that this action will provide them with justification to jump ship.
To me , this is well and good since this could cause Americans to do something positve to end the bull shit.Maybe.?!
jim
Great post Ranger. Once again you bring up facts and questions that the MSM ignore. Have you noticed how the MSM has trashed RS insinuating that they're a 3rd rate news outlet. Fact is with the likes of Matt Taibbi and others they've done some incredible reporting on the war, the crash, bailout and corruption in the US gov't all be it from a left winged perspective.
Here's an interesting article on the McC issue.
http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2010/06/20106268233675259.html
Keep up the good work and I echo UC's thoughts on your blog.
Hi Jim,
I agree that Mc C's trash-talking didn't seem cause enough to fire him. I've noticed that in the news, everyone agrees that Mc C deserved to be fired but nobody cites any quotes to back it up.
I would love to see alliances crumble over this mess and Americans rushing to Washington, pitchforks and torches in hand.
As soon as I collect some more loose change, I'll send a tithe. Watch for it. Any day now…..
Dave
UC,
Totally a tease on the tithing.
I put a "donate" button on long ago, and it is set up to go to the DAV, but I'm not sure I have the right address (it is an individual's email, and it should probably be a general org address.)
I really need to check the matter out, and this is a good reminder for me to do so.
TW,
The MSM miss the point entirely.
No one has questioned Gates/Pet compliance in Mc C 's comments.
Surely they were aware of the command climate in ISAF.
-if they weren't they should be relieved also.
-if they weren't they should be relieved, since they were negligent in their supervision.
I'll read your link.
If you ever visit Fl, pls let me know.
jim
TW,
I read the post and it's saying what we've said 4-5 years ago.
COIN is un American has been left out.This has been 1 of my themes.
I believe that Pet passed out in front of the Congressmen b/c the words and facts overpowered his psyche, and he vapor locked.
I,ve written an art on this , but it hasn't passed editorial review yet.
jim
jim
TW,
This was not a great post- it was just a simple question.
jim
Thank you, tw.
Hope to get down your way sometime in the future Ranger, right now 2 more days of work then retirement ! Yahoo !!
tw,
Congratulations, tw! I hope a hearty celebration is in store.
TW,
Call in sick, end it on a happy note.
jim
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