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Was General McChrystal's removal the appropriate response by Obama?
Results so far:
| Yes | 48% | 651 votes | Total: 1346 votes | |
| No | 52% | 695 votes |
Yes
by Rosemary Redfern
Created on: July 01, 2010
One of the first things anyone learns when they become part of the military is discipline. This involves trusting superiors, obeying orders and adhering to the esprit de corps which makes a good fighting unit. Without this cohesion the system fails. It is only as good as it’s members. It is only as good as it’s leaders. Good leaderships can command amazing results. Poor leadership inspires indiscipline.
If a senior member of the organization fails to support the system by breaching confidentiality and by expressing frustrations publicly with their superiors, it is a sign of weakness, not strength. Any complaints about orders and plans should be taken up with immediate superiors rather than with complaints to the press. Senior officers in the military have large responsibilities and duties but they have the right to express their thoughts about issues to their commander in chief privately. This is in part their duty. They are the experts in the military field. This way amendments to systems which are not working well can be made without airing the whole thing in public.
Military leaders, whose subordinates know they will support and fight for their point of view, have qualities which are special. Leadership is about balance and good judgement. It is about fairness, trust, courage and belief that the best decisions are being made. There is no place for mavericks in normal military operations. Those characters are best suited for special forces and should not be expected to work in the regular army.
General McChrystal is reputed to have had the reputation for indiscipline from the start. He bucked the system. This is a man who has no place in the regular army but is useful in the type of military work which can make use of his unusual thinking.
Talking to the press rather than having out his differences with the President showed lack of judgement. This is not the quality needed in a man commanding a tricky war in a foreign country. It also showed a lack of understanding of the power structures in the military and political world. A general running a major war has to be involved in the political world to understand his own country’s stance and that of the country where his soldiers are fighting. It also shows a level of insubordination which no soldier at any level would tolerate.
Regardless of the qualities of General McChrystal, he has shown himself unable to conform enough to fit into a system which has traditional organization which is tried and tested and works. For these reasons President Obama has no option but to remove him from his post.
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No
by Marcus Brooks
Created on: June 25, 2010
President Barack Obama has inherited a horrendous situation. The former, Illinois senator is America's first, black president. But, his ascension has come with more "baggage" than LAX (Los Angeles) and Dulles (Washington, DC) airport.
Earlier this week, General Allen McChrystal turned in his resignation. McChrystal's leadership has been vital during the military's theater in Afghanistan and Iraq. During 2003-2008, he was Joint Special Operations commander. Under his watch, wanted Al Qaeda terrorist, Abu Musas al-Zarqawi was killed by a U.S. missile strike. Al-Zarqawi led Al Qaeda in Iraq and coordinated brutal attacks and homicidal bombings. It was Zarqawi who beheaded a American civil contractor on video. And, it was McChrystal whose planning destroyed that troublesome, terrorist network.
President Obama accepted the general's resignation. He nipped a public relations nightmare in the bid. Allegedly, McChrystal's aides shot their mouths off to Rolling Stone magazine. They publicly criticized Vice President, Joe Biden. They also verbally attacked National Security Advisor, Richard Holbrooke, Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, James L. Jones and U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan, Karl W. Kikenberry.
Their off-handed comments attacked the very persons implementing Obama's Mideast policies.
McChrystal's alleged actions weren't that of sedition. He condemned the upcoming article and issued a remorseful, written apology . Also, no one verified the words came from his lips. It was his "aides" making those statements.
He (McChrystal) didn't openly defy the President. He didn't cross the line of "showing Obama up".
In September 2009, he made a pledge. With 30,000-40,000 additional troops, McChrystal promised "he would win the war" in Afghanistan. Nevertheless, the escalation never came. This wasn't the first time that a general and a President miscommunicated their war agendas.
During the Korean War, then-General Douglas A. MacArthur combatted with another Commander-in-Chief.
In 1953, he commanded the U.N. forces in South Korea. When Communist North Korea attacked, the predominantly, American army was driven from the 38th Parallel (Demilitarized Zone). At the brink of total collapse, MacArthur executed a dangerous, amphibious attack near Pusan (Inchon Peninsula)Mc. That maneuvered put MacArthur's forces at the Communist army's rear. He drove the confused enemy into full retreat.
But surprisingly, North Korean received military assistance and 300,000 men from neighboring, Communist China. The combined force stopped the U.N. assault and pushed them back.
An angered MacArthur wanted to attack China. Then President Harry S. Truman declined. MacArthur wanted to use America's new, nuclear weapon power against the Communists. Truman declined vehemently. MacArthur criticized the President openly and that insubordination earned him a quick hook from his military duties.
McChrystal wasn't about to go that route. He didn't put to torch his distinguished, military career. He never attacked Obama's manhood or patriotism. He commended the President. It was McChrystal who dismissed himself. Obama didn't remove him from the war.
McChrystal left as a man.
SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA
TIME MAGAZINE: THE KOREAN CONFLICT
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