While I have tried to be measured in what I post to this blog when talking about the current administration, I admit it is rare to find me in agreement with the direction and decisions made by the President during the past year and a half. However, I will most certainly give credit when it is due, and in the case of the war effort in Afghanistan, the President did the right thing yesterday, two times over. In brief, Gen. Stanley McChrystal took responsibility for what appears to be disparaging and possibly contemptuous comments made by his staff about various figures within the civilian leadership and administration, all published in Rolling Stone. (Disclosure: I have not read the article in its entirety). Gen. McChrystal offered his resignation to the President, who rightly accepted it. Then the President asked Gen. David Petraeus to accept what would rightly be viewed as a demotion from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) to return to the field in service to his country.
Whatever one thinks of the current Afghan strategy (and note that I am skeptical that a country that has never known true organized institutions of government can possibly establish them in a mere decade), and whatever feelings one may have about unwieldy rules of engagement (over which I also have heartburn), the bottom line is this: there is absolutely no place for a general officer in a theater of operation to publicly denigrate his civilian leadership, or to allow such opinions to be expressed in the presence of junior officers, enlisted or civilians. To allegedly allow such an atmosphere of disdain to promulgate through his staff is unbecoming. Don't get me wrong - everything I've read about Gen. McChrystal seems to suggest that he is the type of general we need to help fight our wars. I do not disparage his knowledge, or his service. But this situation with the Rolling Stone article is untenable.
At the very least, Gen. McChrystal took the honorable course and offered his resignation. Without doubt, he was, and is free to hold whatever private views he has. The failure of judgment, intentional or not, reflected badly on the both the President and the military command. It nearly created a terrible mess that implicated all - with a very direct impact on those warfighters putting their lives on the line for us. They deserve better.
The President had a choice as well. He could have chosen not to accept the resignation, instead issuing a reprimand and then sending the general back to theater. I submit to do so would have been a sign of weakness that would have had a terrible effect on morale and discipline. Anything less than relieving the general of his command would have ultimately undermined confidence in the authority of the Commander-in-Chief among the ranks of our fighting men and women. Old-fashioned as it may be, honor still matters. Failure to punish such alleged contempt will do nothing but erode morale - already pushed to the limits due to what appears to be an indecisive, ineffective strategy with unworkable rules of engagement. But accepting the resignation, which the President did, could have easily left the entire operational strategy in shambles. Enter Gen. David Petraeus, who oversaw the successful Iraq surge strategy and operation in 2007-2008. Gen. Petraeus, who is neither superman nor savior, may very well be the only general with sufficient bona fides to stabilize, rescue and rework the Afghan strategy, at least in the eyes of the fighting men and women. That is both my speculation, and my hope. It is absolutely critical that the warfighter believe in himself, his friends and his leadership.
There may be a disadvantage, however. The move is militarily a demotion and a sacrifice of sorts for Gen. Petraeus, but one he appears to have willingly accepted. He will move from the command of U.S. CENTCOM (based in Tampa), responsible for overseeing military activities across the Middle East and Asia. Stepping down to lead the war effort in Afghanistan means he won't be directly in on the strategic challenges posed by an ever belligerent Iran.
But as the President said, "War is bigger than any one man or woman, whether a private, a general or a president." We face an uncertain future - we always have. But time and again, men and women of valor have risen to the occasion. Sometimes there is defeat, but at least in our history, often there is victory.
May that victory come soonest, that there may be peace.
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