NY Daily News(10/4): McChrystal's full-court press on Afghanistan is improper

[laststeamtrain]

McChrystal's full-court press on Afghanistan is improper

By Michael Cohen

Sunday, October 4th 2009, 4:00 AM

Civilian control of the armed forces is one of the most sacrosanct tenets of American democracy. It assures us that military decision-making will be subordinate to the larger strategic perspective of our nation's elected - and ultimately accountable - leaders.

But the civil-military balance is at risk of being undermined by the recent leak of Gen. Stanley McChrystal's strategic review on Afghanistan. If, as seems likely, the leak emanated from the military - and it does follow a regular pattern of leaking on the issue of troop increases for Afghanistan - it represents a serious breach in civil-military relations.

To be sure, military prodding for a favored course of action is nothing new, and McChrystal is hardly the first military commander to ask for more troops. But the McChrystal review leak is not an isolated incident. Back in July, the Washington Post highlighted National Security Adviser Jim Jones' stern warning to Marine generals about requesting additional forces for the Afghanistan fight. Within days, anonymous leaks to the same paper warned that the U.S. "will lose the war" without significant troop increases. Jones quickly backtracked from his tough words.

Since then, a steady torrent of leaks has intimated that McChrystal would resign if more troops are not forthcoming, that more resources were essential for victory and that there is "significant frustration" in the military with President Obama. McChrystal even took a star turn on "60 Minutes" to push his counterinsurgency message.

McChrystal's review itself followed a similar pattern. The plan offered the President no tactical recommendations outside of the military's favored course, a robust and prolonged counterinsurgency effort and warned of dire consequences without the introduction of more troops to the conflict.

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Obama is the only person charged with weighing the various national security implications of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan - not just from a military perspective, but also from a political and national interest viewpoint. He must be allowed to make the decision without worrying about his military commanders airing their opinions in public and pushing them toward their preferred military course.

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http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2009/10/04/2009-10-04_mcchrystals_fullcourt_press_on_afghanistan_is_improper.html

[Gman2]

1. McChrystal is a crazy dumbfuck, wanting to deal the death blow to Islam.

He will make a good apocalypse now sequel.

[msongs]

2. military probes the white house looking for the weak link whoever he might be nt