Should President Obama Fire General McChrystal?

[Parche]

[saltpoint]

1. Yes.

McChrystal, I'm guessing, knows that he does not serve the nation by belittling its elected officials. He should offer to resign. Some of the news sites say this has occurred.

Another man or woman should be given his role.

[gateley]

2. Gorn. I'm warming to the idea of demoting him to some paper pusher somewhere.

[saltpoint]

3. -- which demonstrates that you are open-minded, and fair, gateley.

You heard the "Joe Bite-Me" insult and you, an ardent supporter of Vice President Biden, still allow for a more merciful fate for McChrystal.

You rock.

:hi:

[gateley]

5. Awww... thank you so much, but you give me far too much credit. In all honesty

I have to confess that I think it would drive McChrystal crazy and maybe silence some of Obama's critics from both sides.

Sigh. If only I were that good a person.

Thank you anyway. :hug:

[saltpoint]

6. - - -

Well, you might be right on both counts. Definitely it would drive McChrystal nuts.

Good to see a pro-Biden Democrat knockin' around these boards tonight.

:thumbsup:

[gateley]

7. It will sure be interesting to see what transpires tomorrow. I'm exhausted

by all the goings-on lately, and I'll I've been doing is observing! Can you imagine how spent the real players are?

I love DU and always look for an opportunity to say Joe Is Right! :pals: :hi:

[saltpoint]

8. Which is noble work. Biden has been worth following for decades.

(True about the real players in this recent dust-up. They're going to need a stiff drink before it's all over.)

[Sebastian Doyle]

14. Nah, that's letting him off too easily.

I say they put Private McChrystal on the front lines, if he loves this occupation so much.

[backscatter712]

18. Demoting him would have some benefits.

Obama could demote him to somewhere around Colonel, issue a stop-loss order for him so he can't resign or retire, then send him somewhere into the bowels of the Pentagon where he'll never be seen again as long as Obama is president.

That means no FAKES News military advisor job. No TV appearances for McChrystal at all. That'll make it much harder to make a martyr out of him.

[sandnsea]

4. Court martial, demote,

humiliate. Remove any opportunity for this prick to come back and bite.

That or have Joe Biden say "Bite Me? Really?? Well here I am"

[TwilightGardener]

13. I don't necessarily agree with court-martial, but relieve him of command and let him retire.

End of story, no martyrdom, no payback or revenge, no drama.

[sandnsea]

16. Then he can run for President

Court martial and demote - he can't do that.

[TwilightGardener]

17. What indication has there ever been that this man plans to run for President?

And why would it matter if he did? Political considerations should be taking a backseat, regardless. I don't care what McChrystal says or does afterwards, in something as serious as wartime command, the right thing to do is the right thing to do, pure of other motives.

[sandnsea]

20. If he's got ulterior motives

then the CiC damn well better be paying attention to them. It would be nice if all people put war and country ahead of their personal agendas, but it's clear from people like McChrystal that they don't. The RS article makes it even clearer that not even the highest ranks of the military do. With all the blather-mouthing that his guy has done and his over-sized ego, it's not that big of a leap to believe he's setting up a scenario where he can step into the Presidency. I think the RS article said as much, but perhaps it was another article I read today, I don't remember.

[bigwillq]

9. Yes

and then end the wars. NOW!

[lonestarnot]

10. Ugh, where's fuck yeah?

[Unvanguard]

11. No, but not fuck no. More of a lean.

I'm thinking a bit too much about how the German military leadership at the end of World War I basically saved themselves by transferring power to the civilians and blaming them for the defeat, thus undermining the Weimar Republic the moment it was established...

I don't think the case is a perfect parallel, but I think McChrystal ought to be kept in charge of his own policy, to keep Obama from being blamed for ruining it, and to establish proper incentives for doing one's best to save it.

[Toucano]

12. If he doesn't, he's done. He should have demoted him last fall

when McChrystal was actively campaigning for the troop surge in Afghanistan.

He undermined the president then, and he'll keep on doing it as long as he's allowed to speak to the press.

Bust his ass down the ladder.

[dyingnumbers]

15. McChrystal is on very thin ice...

His fate hinges on how far the reputation of the military has been damaged by his libelous statements against the Commander-in-Chief.

Approval ratings should show a direct correlation between the extent to which this damage has been done and the populist dissatisfaction with the war to date.

[donco6]

19. Seriously, the guy is an idiot. And Obama is making a huge mistake if he doesn't.

Running a campaign involves multiple elements, and messaging is one of them. To speak whatever comes into your tiny little head and to allow your staff and subordinates to do the same thing, in the presence of reporters, is just fucking stupid. NO one that stupid should be in charge of anything as important as a military campaign.

Get rid of the dumbass.

[NoPasaran]

21. Release the Kraken!

[mikeSchmuckabee]

22. And ship him to gitmo

on the other side of the fence and flush his bible down the toilet.

[nadinbrzezinski]

23. In fact a court martial should be in his future

Conduct unbecoming

Insults to a higher officer.

Not good for good order and discipline

Just some of the charges. I am sure a creative Military Lawyer can come up with the rest. 'Nough of this shit, on senior officers doing this crap. We all know junior officers and enlisted would be facing a court martial or career end if they went where Stanley went.

[Skip Intro]

24. A middle ground will be taken, he apologizes and stays. nt

[Fuzz]

25. Hell Yes and announce an immediate withdrawal.

[JDPriestly]

26. That's up to Obama and McChrystal.

I can't judge what Obama should do. He and McChrystal will decide.

Maybe McChrystal will apologize big time. That might be the best solution. Maybe McChrystal can't take the defeat that he is facing in Afghanistan. In that case, he will quit and Obama won't have to fire him.