Obama relieves McChrystal of his duties; names Petraeus as replacement

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Washington Post:

President Obama removed Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal as commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan on Wednesday, moving quickly to restore the unity of his administration's war effort after the general and his top aides disparaged civilian leaders in biting remarks in an explosive magazine article.

Obama named Gen. David H. Petraeus, the former commander of U.S. forces in Iraq and currently the head of the U.S. Central Command, to replace McChrystal and urged the Senate to confirm him promptly.

But Obama reaffirmed in blunt terms the counterinsurgency strategy he ordered last year, and he said that "war is bigger than any one man or woman, whether a private, a general or a president."

A senior military official said it has not yet been determined whether Petraeus's move to take charge in Afghanistan will be permanent.

Speaking in the White House Rose Garden after a 30-minute meeting with his national security team in the Situation Room, Obama indicated that he had effectively lost confidence in McChrystal's ability to implement the surge in forces that Obama approved at McChrystal's request late last year.

"Today I accepted General Stanley McChrystal's resignation as commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan," Obama said in an appearance in the White House Rose Garden. "I did so with considerable regret but also with certainty that it is the right thing for our mission in Afghanistan, for our military and for our country."

Obama said he did not make his decision based on any policy differences with McChrystal or "out of any sense of personal insult." But he made clear that the remarks attributed to the general and his aides could not be tolerated.

"The conduct represented in the recently published article does not meet the standard that should be set by a commanding general," Obama said. "It undermines the civilian control of the military that is at the core of our democratic system. And it erodes the trust that's necessary for our team to work together to achieve our objectives in Afghanistan."

Obama said it was his "duty to ensure that no diversion complicates the vital mission" of U.S. forces in Afghanistan," and he stressed that American democracy depends on "strict adherence to the military chain of command, and respect for civilian control over that chain of command."
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As much as it pains me to say this, I think Obama is right here. McChrystal made the dumbest move of his career by shooting his mouth off in public. It didn't work for Patton or MacArthur, and it didn't work here. Petraeus seems to be the right choice.