Greg Jaffe: Military disturbed by rapid turnover at top in Afghan, Iraq wars

[Robert DAH Bruce]

Since 2001, a dozen commanders have cycled through the top jobs in Iraq, Afghanistan and the U.S. Central Command, which oversees both wars. Three of those commanders -- including the recently dismissed Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal -- have been fired or resigned under pressure.

History has judged many others harshly, and only two, Gen. David H. Petraeus and Gen. Ray Odierno, are widely praised as having mastered the complex mixture of skills that running America's wars demands.

For the military, this record of mediocrity raises a vexing question: What is wrong with the system that produces top generals?

Much of what top commanders do in such places as Afghanistan and Iraq bears little relation to the military skills that helped them rise through the ranks, military officials said. Today's wars demand that top commanders act like modern viceroys, overseeing military operations and major economic development efforts. They play dominant roles in the internal politics of the countries where their troops fight.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/26/AR2010062604392.html?hpid=topnews

Those last two sentences are both telling and damning: When will the laptop Pattons get it through their uber-thick skulls that we are not a goddam Empire?!?

[babylonsister]

1. Troops Are Happy That Obama sacked Gen. Stanley McChrystal

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=433&topic_id=355267&mesg_id=355267

So I wonder who is lying.

[dsc]

2. actually they aren't inconsistant theories

Both theories state that the problem is bad generals.

[bemildred]

3. Competent generals have always been hard to come by.

And it takes a very good general to make much of a dent in a stupid war. We have at least two stupid wars going on, three if you count TWAT.

But the fundamental problem is not the generals, it's the corrupt and decadent ruling elites and the incompetent government which they foist upon the rest of us.

[rocktivity]

4. The real problem is the leadership's real leadership

The military-industrial gods who insist that the war machine keeps cranking out profits.

:headbang:
rocktivity

[Stargazer09]

5. In my experience,

and that of my husband, the military has become a f**k up, move up world. The people getting promoted are NOT the ones who know their jobs and demonstrate the ability to handle complex situations. The ones getting promoted, for the most part, are the ones who are best at kissing up to their superiors. Sooner or later, you're going to end up with mediocre officers who don't want to take advice from anyone, who think they know everything that they need to know, and who expect their underlings to kiss up to them the way they kissed up to their superiors. Tell them something that they don't want to hear, and you'll get a performance review that ruins your career.

I've already left the military, and my husband is retiring in a few years. We're both ready to move on to better things.

[msongs]

6. let private corporations operate in Afghanistan without ANY US taxpayer money at all....

privatize private businesses completely and tell em they are on their own. That's what privatization means. Oh wait, our government policy is to privatize profits and make public the costs so to better screw American taxpayers.

Msongs

[Demeter]

7. The Motives Were Concealed, the Costs Concealed, The Purpose Concealed

with all that lying going on, it's amazing that the whole situation hasn't fallen apart entirely--like Vietnam did, because the Press exposed it all. There's the rub, though!

With the new News Management, the armed forces and especially the Presidency have managed to commit crimes of stupidity, cupidity and worse in broad daylight, with no cop nor reporter to stop them or even slow them down.

Obama was elected to stop this nonsense. Instead, he gives it his whole support to continue ad infinitum.

We don't deserve the fine armed forces we have, and we are slowly losing them, thanks to this abuse of public resources, trust and reputation.