The McChrystal Mess-Another Truman/MacArthur?

l-r: McChrystal-Eikenberry



Tomorrow, General Stanley McChrystal will be taken to the White House tool shed by President Obama over his now famous remarks about the President, his aides and US Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry. I would not be surprised if the general is relieved of his command. That would bring back memories of Truman's firing of General Douglas MacArthur during the Korean War over that general's disagreement over war policy and his (MacArthur's)wish to expand the theatre.

Clearly, there is a breakdown in command discipline here, and rest assured it will be resolved in Obama's favor. The President cannot allow a situation to exist where military subordinates are openly making derogatory references to the President and the administration-whether you or I agree with them or not.

Perhaps of greater concern is what this incident illustrates about our war effort in Afghanistan, which I have always supported. Looks to me at this point that it is a bit of a mess. Add that to the uncertainties in Pakistan and what the mission has evolved into. For example, are we still trying to hunt down Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda somewhere in that border region? Now some are speculating that Bin Laden is holed up in Iran. And what are we trying to do in Afghanistan vis-a-vis their government? As I said before, if we are trying to turn that country into Switzerland, that would be a fool's errand. Corruption is still rife, the poppies are blooming, and the place is still in the 7th century-ok, maybe the 9th.

This may be a good time for both political sides in the US to take a long, hard look at Afghanistan. At the risk of sounding like a peacenik, I still have that lingering feeling that the ultimate solution is to build a wall around that part of the world. Nobody gets in and nobody gets out. At the point that country no longer poses a threat to American lives in the US, I look forward to the day when we can let them all fend for themselves and/or kill themselves rather than us.

This matter looks like a story with few heroes. It is not surprising to me if the military has contempt for Obama as they did for Bill Clinton. Yet, the principle of civilian control over the military must be maintained-even if the civilian control is nothing to write home about.