......What's worse is that he undermined the president's authority, and validated the fears the troops in Afghanistan surely already had; that they were on a BS mission that their leaders didn't believe in. It's bad enough for them to watch their buddies die when they think what they're doing is the most important thing in the world, and that their leaders and the rest of the civilized world are 100% behind them. What he did was cause them to think their leaders do NOT believe in the mission, and the effects of that are pure cancerous hate and discontent in any unit. McChrystal should be punished under the articles of the UCMJ specifically for what he did to their morale. By publicly displaying dissension like that, to a president who did what he asked him to do no less, McChrystal brought shame on the United States military, and put a stain on his career that history will not ever forget. Every American should be offended by his actions, because they further endanger the lives of troops already directly in harms way every day. This issue has absolutely nothing to do with the validity of McChrystal and his staff's comments. You can think what you want about what he said. The issue is that you know what he said, and you shouldn't. Neither should I. Wherever you hear them, the discussions about whether his comments were true or false are misguided and beside the point. Don't let people distract you from the real point. Generals, and all military officers, complain UP the chain and ONLY up the chain, and that's all there is to it. Complaining to your men about what your boss is making them all do is childish, pathetic, and counter to the good order and discipline of the military.
First, let me say that I completely and always support you and your service for the people of the United States. I never served in the military, so I can't speak from the same viewpoint as you have...... but I have to say that as an American...... I'm quite bothered by what you've said here. I don't mean this to offend you so please allow me to explain myself - hopefully you can consider this with an open mind.
"...and validated the fears the troops in Afghanistan
surely already had; that they were on a BS mission that their leaders didn't believe in."
So.... you're saying the troops should be treated like mushrooms? Feed 'em shit and keep 'em in the dark? Should the same be said for the American public? I will stand firm that I will never be ok with sending our men and women into danger when it's not 100% justified and that their leaders believe 100% in the mission. Enough of our sons and daughters, fathers and mothers have died over there for this damn police action.
"Every American should be offended by his actions, because they further endanger the lives of troops already directly in harms way every day."
I'm curious how the General's statements (and likely his personal opinions/beliefs) could endanger the lives of the troops? McChrystal wanted support from his Commander in Chief and the war-heads working under him. McChrystal is responsible for the war effort in an enormous capacity. He's entrusted to make decisions, and make educated experienced proposals for action, weapons and troops needed to succeed in those actions....... and clearly he's totally frustrated that he's not getting what he feels he and the troops need. If anything..... Obama and the war-heads are guilty of negligence in their own responsibilities - they clearly aren't over there, seeing the war effort in person as McChrystal has..... If anyone is endangering the lives of the troops, it's the fat-heads above McChrystal that aren't listening.
"Don't let people distract you from the real point. Generals, and all military officers, complain UP the chain and ONLY up the chain, and that's all there is to it. Complaining to your men about what your boss is making them all do is childish, pathetic, and counter to the good order and discipline of the military"
I'm sorry, but I have this very same structure in my Law Enforcement career. And while it does have it's place, this structure's biggest failure is that the higher in rank the information flows, the tighter the filter gets and the top ranks only hear the highly edited, limited content information. And when there are legitimate problems..... the person in the position that should be responsible for handling those problems, simply allows the buck to stop there. We have Captains and Chiefs here at my Department that have absolutely NO idea of the problems and issues we line personnel have because Lieutenants and Captains fail to share this information - as it would make them look bad. So they handle it "in house". Usually by kicking it under the rug. Ain't no different in the Military.
So, I guess what I really wanna know is.......
Is there anyone that truely believes that the statements/comments made by McChrystal and his staff are just a bunch of negative, destructive lies? That they had absolutely no personal knowledge or experience to base their statements/comments on? Just out there on a mission to spread b.s. propaganda?
Come awn...... really?
