AP: Gen. Petreaus to Succeed McChrystal

[Hissyspit]

Source: MSNBC

AP reports Gen. David Petraeus to be named as top Afghan commander

BREAKING NEWS
NBC News and news services
updated less than 1 minute ago

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama has decided to relieve Gen. Stanley McChrystal of his command over all U.S. military forces in Afghanistan, sources tell NBC News.

Obama is scheduled to make an official 1:30 p.m. EDT announcement about the general. Meantime, the Associated Press reported that Obama has chosen Gen. David Petraeus to replace McChrystal as top Afghan commander.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37866754/ns/us_news-military/

[otohara]

1. Smart PR Move

WTG Mr. President - GOAL

[Lone_Star_Dem]

2. Put the mentor of the man you just relieved of command in charge

It removes most public doubt of his ability to perform the duties as good as, if not better than, the one removed. Or so I guess was the WHs reasoning behind the decision.

[Crowman1979]

3. Uh-oh, somebody's head will explode!

Or the conservatives will just sputter out BUT, TH, WHA, THA for several minutes.

[HughMoran]

4. I think this is a good choice

I know a lot of people here have had to begrudgingly admit that Petraeus was one of the handful of good decisions dim son made.

[aquart]

6. No, can't say Petraeus has ever been a personal favorite.

[Octafish]

9. Don't count me as one who thinks that.

Among my reasons:

Know your BFEE: They kill good soldiers like Col. Ted Westhusing for profit.

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Octafish]

20. No paranoid, Lt. Col. Westhusing was the Pentagon's ''Professor of Ethics.''

No way he was going to let them get away with corruption, in the case of government contractors, or treason, in the case of government employees.

Gen. Petraeus and a High-Profile Suicide in Iraq

The above article by Greg Mitchell originally ran in "Editor and Publisher." It no longer is available on their web site. Mitchell, FYI, was fired after the publication was purchased by the Carlyle Group.

PS: You can call me "Paranoid" or "Crazy," I don't care.

[florida08]

22. yes had read that as well

and why my radar went up about Petraeus. His note to Petraeus and the other general was striking. It's obvious he was tormented by what he saw.

[Captain Lee]

23. Re :Know you BFEE

Hi

I don't mean to offend or piss anyone off, but I was there when COL Westhusing killed himself. The articles you've posted here and on the other board are full of innuendo and try to draw connections between dots, but the reality is, Ted did commit suicide. I worked with him and his staff for a number of months before his death. He killed himself at the facility being used to train the ERU - Emergeny Response Unit, an FBI-trained hostage rescue team (and probably the most professional police force in Iraq, they all had some training in the US). He ate lunch with some of the military and civilian staff, went back to his CHU (Containerized housing unit) and shot himself. His secretary (female, civilian) was first to reach his CHU. I don't know what the comment in the article about a security team means, he never had a 'security team'. He had his own sidearm, his staff consisted of armed soldiers and unarmed civilians. When he went anywhere, he had 3-4 armored vehicles with machine guns. I don't know who his security team was supposed to be; the only security team in the building were the Blackwater types with the Ambassador. We all knew he was depressed for weeks, he seemed very disconnected during briefings and working engagements. It was shocking to all of us and sad, but let's not get into conspiracy theories when the truth suffices.

[beltanefauve]

24. Welcome to DU!

Keep posting !

[Robb]

35. Welcome to DU!

And thank you, Captain. Stick around if you can. :hi:

[Octafish]

37. Why do people who know about corrupt mercenaries in Iraq keep 'committing suicide'?

While I do not know whether Col. Westhusing shot himself or was murdered, I find his death suspicious because it was convenient for the powers-that-be -- the same people who sold the nation the idea that Saddam Hussein was poised to use weapons of mass destruction on the USA and had something to do with the attacks of September 11.

Here's more on the tragedy:

Col. Ted Westhusing: Suicide or Execution?

Here's more information:

Why do people who know about corrupt mercenaries in Iraq keep "committing suicide"?

Thank you for the report. Welcome to DU, Captain Lee.

[Captain Lee]

38. I can't answer that question

But I find myself wondering if the conspiracy theory is the default theory far too often.

Case in point. A very good friend of mine I served with in Taji had a piece of land out in California. One day he got a letter from home saying the Air Force wanted to buy it because it was along a flight path they wanted to use for drone testing. Needless to say he was overjoyed to sell an otherwise worthless tract of scrub. Two months after his getting home from Iraq, he was killed in a single vehicle accident. Did something crash onto his property that the Air Force needed to cover up and they couldn't get it done by the time he was home to sell his land? Was he killed so that the military wouldn't have to pay top dollar for the land? Easy to fall into those questions, but the fact is this: after 15 months of paranoid and aggressive driving, the California freeways were just too much for him. Lord knows I had severe flashbacks when I found myself in fast moving, heavy traffic.

Ted's death was a tragedy. He was a good guy and had a tough mission. I fear it was just too much for him.

[Octafish]

39. I very much appreciate your service and that of Col. Westhusing.

I have family and friends currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. A childhood friend's big brother -- an Army physician -- was one of five service members murdered by a fellow soldier last year at Camp Liberty in Iraq.

Apart from the oil -- and the support for our unnamed ally in the Middle East and the strategic real estate of both countries relative to the world's main oil patch -- there really isn't a good reason for us being in either country. And we wouldn't be there, IMO, were it not for Reagan's insistance on a petroleum-based economic system that enriches and empowers the few empire.

Regarding conspiracy theory as the default position when it comes to government accountability:

Frank Church and the Abyss of Warrantless Wiretapping.

A Short History of Conspiracy Theory

A fact curiously missing from American history and any mention of the Warren Commission

A few words on the BFEE:

Know your BFEE: Phil Gramm, the Meyer Lansky of the War Party, Set-Up the Biggest Bank Heist Ever.

Know your BFEE: Olympic Games Show Who’s Best Friends Forever with Authoritarians and Dictators

Know your BFEE: 1984 Death of Outstanding Congressional Staffer Buried Poppy-Moon Relationship

PS: Really mean it: Welcome to DU, Captain Lee!

[Captain Lee]

44. Thank you

Thank you

Like they say on the radio, long time listener, first time caller.

[jonnyblitz]

28. of course you do. nt

[mbperrin]

5. Did Petraeus faint when he heard the news?

Just askin'.

[aquart]

7. Is this a demotion for Petraeus?

[MissDeeds]

16. Looks like it is

NPR is saying this is essentially a step down for him.

[tabasco]

36. NPR is a bunch of dumbasses.

A lateral field command is not a demotion.

[Demeter]

8. Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire

Slow learner.

[florida08]

10. I have doubts about Petraeus

A few months ago it was reported:

TEHRAN — Top Iranian officials lashed out on Tuesday at US General David Petraeus for his comments asserting the Islamic republic is becoming a "thugocracy", saying such terms are only used by "thugs."...

"This exhausted general has insulted the Iranian government by calling it a government of thugocracy. It is understandable why you (Petraeus) utter such comments because the people of the region hate you," the official IRNA news agency quoted Larijani as saying...

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5irXYyA8i6rAfxz-ysVToRVArgZWQ

If you remember the British were concerned in 2008 that he was beating the war drum for Iran.

[Flatulo]

13. Unfortunately, he was right about Iran... I have vivid memories of the

Revolutionary Guard and their proxies beating the shit out of civilians last year.

Of course, he didn't have to articulate what everyone knows... Generals should follow the CIC's orders, not set policy.

[Ichingcarpenter]

11. Gen betrayus is another political wannabe with a record

That speaks for itself in Iraq with loss of major weapons, munitions , pallets of money etc.
He has now replaced his own protege.

I guess he'll give himself another metal

[saigon68]

26. Betrayus ----another POS failure

ice job of rehiring Sadaam's Army

Wonder where the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ will be spent to buy off the Afghan's------ as if Puppet McKarzai hasn't fed at the trough for 9 years already

[Ichingcarpenter]

34. I said the Dept of Defense and the military needed

to be cleaned up in 2004 if Kerry won..... I really think its worst now than during Nam.

Now the generals and officers say, vote and act like republicans
not all..... but substantial majority of the armed forces.
Even the extreme rightwing conservative christians that are in military command
strut their stuff.....OPENLY ON TV AND THE NEWS

It was never that bad back then.

[niceypoo]

12. Good move

[lanlady]

14. as CENTCOM commander

Petraeus already had overall responsibility for Afghanistan. So this makes a lot of sense.

[Grinchie]

17. Any news on why Petraues collapse while McLame was droning the other day?

What, his passing out and being carried out of the senate chamber doesn't rate as an incident that raises questions about his health?

Maybe this is his punishment by Obama -- More work in an unwinnable situation.

Karma sucks, doesn't it?

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

19. Whose head HASN'T hit the table while McCain is talking

I'd collapse on the table, if only to get McCain to STFU.

Anyway, the generals are not the problem. The notion that we can "win" (whatever that means) is the problem. Just put a sergeant-major in charge of clearing us out of there. That's all the leadership we need in the region.

:hi:

[RamboLiberal]

18. That's a very smart move IMHO

Should help shut up the braying from the RW idiots. And if Petraeus fails in Afghanistan it should show them this is unwinnable.

[dyingnumbers]

21. McChrystal wasn't taking it seriously.

On the other hand, Petraeus isn't well known for his sense of humor.

Five facts about General David Petraeus

[saigon68]

27. BYE BYE McCrazy

[Steve20]

25. Afghanistan

Doesn't matter who is in charge, it's time to leave this quagmire.

[saigon68]

30. Its a quagmire --a swamp

marécage

Un marécage est un milieu caractérisé par la présence d'arbres poussant sur un sol organique vaseux.

[Ignis]

29. Are you shitting me?

:banghead:

[JDPriestly]

31. Obama handled this brilliantly.

McChrystal could not have stayed.

McChrystal was not dismissed because he personally insulted the president. Obama is used to insults and is not troubled by them.

The problem is that if McChrystal's publicizing of his remarks had been forgiven, McChrystal would not have been able to discipline one of his subordinates for making similar remarks of either the President or McChrystal.

if McChrystal had not been severely disciplined, how could McChrystal expect the men and women who serve under him to respect his authority, to serve without public displays of criticism, even of insubordination. After all, McChrystal's authority did not come from some independent military establishment. McChrystal's authority, like the President's is derived from the United States Constitution and the chain of command established in it.

So, it is not a matter of Obama asserting his personal authority. It is a matter of McChrystal, by usurping the chain of command of the US Constitution having usurped his own moral authority.

McChrystal fired himself by making his continued service untenable.

Obama made the right decision and handled this regrettable situation with tact and wisdom. I knew he would.

I am not an Obama-worshiper. But Obama handles this kind of situation better than any president since Abraham Lincoln and maybe even better than Wise Old Abe himself.

[saigon68]

32. Its a Bad War that will be lost

1000 sons and daughters of amerika have died for nothing

[earcandle]

33. We do need to stop this war in Afghanistan. Who do we think we are trying to install a government

on top of a sovereign nation?  Where do we get off spending
our much needed money on some third world country's
development, instead of our own?  This is assbackwards
bullshit.  We need to bring our money back home for single
payer, and revamping of our medical technology, as well as
restarting our children on an educational path we can rely on.
 Not to mention rebuilding our own infrastructure.  I know the
rapturists want us to go down down down, but can we stop
playing into their hands and get some sense, like yesterday,
already?   

[Bragi]

40. Great opportunity to "refocus" policy

The surge was in total failure mode. It had already been redefined several times. This is a good time to do what is needed to wind down this losing military operation. I hope Obama does not miss this opportunity.

[alp227]

41. Seriously, END THIS WAR ALREADY!

The government is spending non-stop rivers of cash on a meaningless puppet government in Afghanistan when every government in America has a budget deficit and can't afford unemployment benefits anymore, unemployment is contagious, and so many American families are going to fall into poverty.

[TheMadMonk]

42. There is something about the economic collapse in the US that says...

...it is being driven in a particular direction, and that direction includes the impoverishment of the ordinary citizen.

Not just as part and parcel of the shifting of wealth upwards, but as part of a greater agenda with a specific use in mind for the millions of unemployed with no means of support.

[Socal31]

43. Get our boys home.

Leave the CIA and the strike capability for the worst of the worst.

Time to pack up.