Afghanistan disappointed by McChrystal resignation...
Afghanistan disappointed by McChrystal resignation, optimistic about Petraeus
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...062303930.html
By Ernesto Londoño and Karin Brulliard
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, June 23, 2010; 5:28 PM
KABUL -- Afghan officials said they were saddened and disappointed by the dismissal Wednesday of Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, but they expressed high hopes for his replacement.
"General McChrystal has been a very important partner," said Waheed Omar, a spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai. "We're sad to see him go, but we respect this decision by the U.S. commander in chief."
Omar said the Afghan government is encouraged by the nomination of Gen. David H. Petraeus, the former commander of U.S. forces in Iraq and currently the head of the U.S. Central Command, to replace McChrystal, saying it "shows the commitment of the United States to Afghanistan."
"He has been to Afghanistan a few times, and we think with his arrival we will have another trusted partner," Omar said of Petraeus.
Karzai and Afghan security officials had expressed hope that McChrystal would weather the scandal unleashed by a magazine profile that portrayed him and his staff as dismissive and critical of top Obama administration officials.
Afghan leaders viewed McChrystal as a trustworthy general with a deep and nuanced understanding of their country. Among the cadre of Obama administration officials involved in Afghanistan policy, he had arguably the strongest relationship with, and the most influence over, Karzai and his security chiefs.
The Afghan leaders particularly welcomed guidelines McChrystal issued to limit the use of lethal force in an effort to reduce the number of civilian casualties in NATO operations. He also worked closely with the Afghan government at the national and provincial levels in an effort to strengthen a state many Afghans view as weak and corrupt.
"They're very concerned," a senior U.S. military official who works closely with Afghan commanders said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive issue. "They think McChrystal is the right guy at the right time. For the first time, what they're trying to do and what we're trying to do is in sync, and that's directly attributable to the guy who's in command."
Khalid Pashtoon, a member of parliament who serves as deputy chairman of the Internal Security Committee, called McChrystal's departure a big loss.
"He was very bright and smart and a very active person," said Pashtoon, who recently traveled with McChrystal to the southern province of Kandahar, where a major NATO military operation is underway. "He always called us, sat with us and listened to us. He was an asset. No doubt about it."
Pakistan had no immediate reaction to McChrystal's firing. But Petraeus's appointment as the new commander in Afghanistan is likely to be viewed as the best-case scenario in the neighboring country, where McChrystal had established a remarkable level of trust.
Though his duties officially ended at the Afghan border, McChrystal focused on building a strong rapport with Pakistan's army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Kiyani. Pakistani officials said that through monthly meetings and helicopter tours of areas where Pakistani troops were battling insurgents, McChrystal and Kiyani had developed a common understanding of both the need to combat extremism and the other's constraints.
McChrystal also played a key role in improving Kabul's rocky relationship with Islamabad. Karzai met with Pakistan's intelligence chief recently to discuss cooperation in negotiating with Afghan Taliban leaders.
Yet Petraeus probably has as much, if not more, clout in Islamabad. He was an early proponent of a regional strategy that prioritized improving relations with Pakistan in hopes of persuading it to target the Afghan Taliban fighters who use Pakistani hideouts to plot attacks on coalition forces in Afghanistan.
Petraeus made his first trip to Pakistan in November 2008, shortly after being appointed head of Central Command. He has visited several times since, delivering assurances that the U.S. troop buildup in Afghanistan would not spill over into Pakistan, visiting Pakistani paramilitary forces in the northwestern city of Peshawar and regularly praising Pakistan's fight against its domestic Taliban, an offshoot of the Afghan Taliban.
He visited most recently in May, for the sixth time in 12 months.
"There's a complete understanding of each other's situation," a senior Pakistani military official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because Pakistan had not yet offered an official reaction. "He's not a stranger."
In Iraq, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari called Petraeus the architect of the turnaround in the war there. Violence has dropped off significantly since the height of the conflict, and many attribute that to Petraeus, who implemented a surge of U.S. troops and paid former insurgents to battle al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Still, Zebari cautioned, "the situation in Iraq and in Afghanistan is really different."
Brulliard reported from Islamabad. Leila Fadel in Baghdad also contributed to this report.
The Actual Rolling Stone Article - The Runaway General
Indeed he brought it upon himself at minimal to engage in a popular culture scenario where the questions and commentary can be more front-loaded and controversial than what is said by the person being interviewed. Bad move! Perhaps we can start to evaluate the RS article and examine what was actually said by their staff, the style of interview it was and what McChrystal ran off the mouth with [[warning it is a very long set up broken into parts):
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/17390/119236
Quote:
Originally Posted by
firstandten
McChrystal bought this on himself by not following or respecting the chain of command. Its funny, military folks that high up preach the chain of command but they don't follow their own rules when it comes to reporting to a civilian commander-in-chief.
Its seems like these generals must think Obama is some kind of boob, that they can say or do anything they like and think he will take it. This was the second time McChrystal F'ed up. I guess he didn't learn his lesson the first time.
Its a good thing Petraeus, learned his lesson early on, when Obama called him on the carpet. He might not like Obama but I bet he now respects him and more importantly respects the office of the President, something McChrystal seemed to not want to do.
