I stand with the President on his decision to relieve General McChrystal of his command based upon his insubordinate remarks in the Rolling Stone. MSNBC is currently reporting this right now, and there is no hard news story as of right now, but once there is one, I will link to it.
The President has a very difficult mission in Afghanistan, and I have in the past, disagreed with him on escalating the military there, but my view is of that as a citizen. The President should not be directly criticized by those in the military as he is the Commander-in-Chief, and it is against the military code to do so.
This is a hard decision for the President to have made, but I support him fully in this one. If any Republicans dare to make hay out of this---let us push back against them on this score. The President should not be questioned in his decision to fire General McChrystal---he had every right to do so given the repeated incidences of McChrystal's prior insubordination on the Afghanistan strategy.
So, Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly, and the right wing--you are on notice. If you scream about this endangering the Afghanistan mission and putting troops in danger, we'll be sure to remind you that it was McChrystal's fault for putting himself in this position.
Three times, General McChrystal has defied the President openly---and as I've said before, third time's the charm, and McChrystal is finally on his way out. President Obama deserves more respect than this from the military, and hopefully this will be a final reminder to the military about who's in charge.
The President of the United States of America---not some tony-faced peacock of a military man who wants to openly defy the President.
Edit: It also has been reported that General Petraeus will succeed McChrystal.
UPDATE Here's the NYT on the President's remarks:
Mr. Obama, standing with General Petraeus and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. in the White House Rose Garden to underline the continuity and solidity of his Afghan policy, said that he had regretfully accepted General McChrystal’s resignation.
He said he had done so not out of personal insult, but because a magazine article featuring contemptuous quotes from the general and his staff about senior administration officials had not meet standards of behavior for a commanding general, and threatened to undermine civilian control of the military.
"War is bigger than any one man or woman, whether a private, a general or president," Mr. Obama said. "As difficult as it is to lose General McChrystal, I believe it is the right decision for national security."
"I welcome debate among my team," he said, "but I won’t tolerate division."
From valadon in comments below, here are McChrystal's remarks:
This morning the President accepted my resignation as Commander of U.S. and NATO Coalition Forces in Afghanistan. I strongly support the President’s strategy in Afghanistan and am deeply committed to our coalition forces, our partner nations, and the Afghan people. It was out of respect for this commitment — and a desire to see the mission succeed — that I tendered my resignation.
It has been my privilege and honor to lead our nation’s finest.
UPDATE 2: Just got a nasty little troll e-mail:
I guess I'm not that bright, so pardon my ignorance but what does this mean?
The President of the United States of America---not some tony-faced peacock of a military man who wants to openly defy the President.
Is that typical Kossack disdain for the military rearing its head again? Is it failure to acknowledge the fact that Obama knows NOTHING about being a CINC and is a poor leader in general (jump in at any time and tell me how great a job he is doing as President, please.) I guess I am dumbfounded as to what the highlighted statement means other than an Obama worshipper being upset that anyone dared to criticize the least effective and least engaged CINC we have had in my lifetime (next to Jimmy Carter, that is.)
P.S. I know its wrong for officers to publicly criticize their superiors. That's not what I am getting at here...have a great day, Obama worshipper! Your hero wins again!
This one's not very bright.