President Obama this afternoon did the absolutely proper thing, when he dismissed General Stanley McChrystal as head of American and NATO forces in Afghanistan, and replaced him with his superior, the head of Central Command in the Middle East, General David Petraeus!
No military leader can be allowed to be disrespectful to the President of the United States, as civilian command over the military is paramount in our system of government! McChrystal’s insubordination, on top of his coverup of the “friendly fire” death of Pat Tillman, the football player who volunteered to fight in Afghanistan, required his dismissal, as no General is indispensable! 🙁
Petraeus is an excellent alternative, although it adds to his total burden, being in both positions, so one wonders if he will keep the head of Central Command for long, or whether someone else will eventually become the head of forces in Afghanistan, once things settle down!
In any case, Obama took the right step, but now he needs to go one step further, and have the courage to do what his Vice President, Joe Biden, a foreign policy specialist in his 36 years in the Senate, has been advocating!
Biden has been the loyal partner, not complaining that Obama chose to escalate US involvement in Afghanistan, but Biden is still advocating that we rapidly withdraw troops a year from now, to keep with Obama’s date of starting to remove our combat soldiers!
Biden has not been afraid to contradict Petraeus on the need to have rapid withdrawal next year! It is obvious the battle for the heart and mind of President Obama continues on this issue!
With so many problems at home, and such a big budget deficit, we need to lay down plans to withdraw, and not only save hundreds of billions of dollars annually, but also the lives of our courageous troops!
President Obama, the author has stated this before, and says it again! We need to get out of Afghanistan, a cemetery for the British and the Soviet Union, and fight terrorism in other ways! Listen to Joe Biden, as he is a brilliant man who knows what he is talking about! And realize the fact that McChrystal’s ridicule of Biden should be seen for what it is: McChrystal is not to be respected, as he has attacked the man who, in many ways, makes your Presidency better than it could have been with anyone else in the Vice Presidency!
Joe Biden should be respected and listened to, as he has the proper perspective and insights, and he is there to support you and back you up! He is an jewel of unlimited value! 🙂
I agree with President Obama accepting McCrystals resignation. All military cadets know that you can never disrespect the commander and chief. The only issue I have with this is that I don’t believe it’s fair to Petraeus. It’s seems as if Obama just demoted him. Also who will he get to replace Petraeus?