Assuming real fire is causing this smoke in the Rolling Stone story, the aesthetic General McChrystal soon will be relieved from his command of the Afghan effort.
TeamObama or any President cannot tolerate this public display of 'attitude' from a top commander in the field. General McChrystal has crossed a line. Whether he's right or wrong makes no difference, a President cannot tolerate and a sage general should never make such remarks.
Nevertheless, with these attitudes out in the open, TeamObama's Afghan policies will gather yet more detractors. In any event, my guess is the military was already not in the TeamObama camp. None of this bodes well for him and his policies
I wonder what Secretary of Defense Gates will say and do? He cannot support McChrystal and remain Secretary.
Update 6/22/10
Gates' initial statement:
"I read with concern the profile piece on Gen. Stanley McChrystal in the upcoming edition of “Rolling Stone” magazine. I believe that Gen. McChrystal made a significant mistake and exercised poor judgment in this case. We are fighting a war against al Qaeda and its extremist allies, who directly threaten the United States, Afghanistan, and our friends and allies around the world. Going forward, we must pursue this mission with a unity of purpose. Our troops and coalition partners are making extraordinary sacrifices on behalf of our security, and our singular focus must be on supporting them and succeeding in Afghanistan without such distractions. Gen. McChrystal has apologized to me and is similarly reaching out to others named in this article to apologize to them as well. I have recalled Gen. McChrystal to Washington to discuss this in person."
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