Obama redefines White House relationship with top field commander

[TomCADem]

Source: LA Times

Reporting from Washington - President Obama and his predecessor differ significantly in their approach to America's wars. They differ at least as much in their relationship with their top battlefield commander.

During the Bush administration, Gen. David H. Petraeus, the ground commander in Iraq, assumed the role of a trusted advisor who frequently visited the White House or talked to the president by phone.But Obama's commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, occupies a defined place in the chain of command. The two have met face-to-face only twice -- and one of those was after the general infuriated the White House by discussing U.S. strategy in an overseas speech.

The reasons for the marked contrasts run deeper than personal preferences. Under Obama, top Pentagon officials have worked to keep McChrystal out of the spotlight, in part to avoid creating "another celebrity general" as the White House debates its Afghanistan strategy.

Senior military officials have pushed for a more traditional relationship between Obama and his field commander, McChrystal, than existed between President Bush and his field commanders, in particular Petraeus.


Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-obama-generals28-2009oct28,0,7342501.story

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I guess President Obama is not BFFs with McChrystal. Rather, McChrystal is being discouraged from freelancing.