Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who has had the terribly difficult job of commanding our war in Afghanistan, unfortunately got into additional trouble when he unwisely said too much in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine. That has resulted in the general’s resignation from command.
(Chattanoogans may be particularly interested because Gen. McChrystal has several relatives who are good citizens of our community, and the general’s late mother was a member of the editing staff of the Chattanooga Free Press when she was a student at the University of Chattanooga.)
Gen. McChrystal has had his hands more than full in trying to maintain stability for the government of Afghanistan while battling guerrillas and terrorists in that unfortunate country.
Then along came a magazine writer to interview the general. Gen. McChrystal was more forthcoming in some of his public expressions than he should have been. He did not criticize President Barack Obama directly but did make critical policy comments. For example, the general said it was “painful” deciding whether to call for more troops, that the president had an “unsellable” position, and that he felt “betrayed” by Ambassador Karl Eikenberry. He also jokingly remarked that he didn’t recognize Vice President Joe Biden’s name.
You get the tone of the unfortunate comments. (Why didn’t the general “know better,” whatever his personal views?)
So the president, while generously praising the general for his good service, accepted Gen. McChrystal’s resignation.
We have a long tradition of “civilian control” of the military. You may recall the regrettable situation in which President Harry Truman removed Gen. Douglas MacArthur from his Korean War command because of Gen. MacArthur’s public comment that “In war, there is no substitute for victory.” Mr. Truman was accepting stalemate instead of seeking victory.
We prefer peace with honor. We hate war. In war, we prefer victory. When war has to be conducted, we want the best and most effective military officers. We don’t like to mix politics and the military.
The Obama-McChrystal incident is an unfortunate sidetrack in a very troubling war.