June 24, 2010 Gen. Stanley McChrystal Episode By Saeed Qureshi It is perhaps the second army general in the United States army after Douglas MacArthur that has been forced out of command for a conduct that is considered inconsistent with the laid down mandate of an army general fighting in the battlefield. The comment made by Gen McChrystal and his staff in an interview with the Rolling Stone magazine’s free lance journalist Michael Hastings, howsoever inflammatory could have been condoned, if these were or not directed at certain powerful decision makers in the administration. But perhaps still these could be swallowed if these did not carry the sting of ridicule and derision for the president, Vice President Joe Biden, National Security Advisor James L. Jones, US Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl W. Eikenberry, and Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke. Military Generals and senior officers usually tend to be carefree in social environment but are tough when in combat positions. Perhaps Gen McChrystal did not realize that his so called off the hook unguarded remarks would spell disaster for him unceremoniously bringing an end to a meritorious career with 7 years of fighting in Iraq and Afghan wars. One has to pay for the lashing of tongue when you do not have to do it. But it reinforces the point that no matter how aggressive or chauvinistic or unbridled a general is he is till subservient to the orders from the civilian government as enshrined in the American constitution that army was under the civilian government and could not step out of the orbit it has been assigned to operate within. General McChrystal was perhaps under the impression that in matters relating to the field command he could accuse the high ups in the government for not listening to his calls or suggestions that he has been making to change the paradigm of fighting in Afghanistan. So when he found a chance to vent his pent up rage he came out straight without sensing that even if he has been ignored in regards his proposals and requests still he was not supposed to cross the lines set for him. Gen. McChrystal has been replaced by Gen. David Petraeus, a sober and enlightened army commander who has done some marvelous job in Iraq by bringing peace and stabilizing the democratic set up that was so essential for the withdrawal of the American forces. Hopefully, Gen. Petraeus would be able to repeat his performance in Afghanistan also. His performance would be contingent upon the paucity of time because the drawdown of American and NATO troops would begin by July 2011. So he has a time frame of exactly a year to broker peace and begin process of reconciliation in addition to scoring some kind of military face saving victory over the militants in Afghanistan. But if the war intensifies in Afghanistan and NATO and American troops are poised for longer stay then Gen Petraeus job would be tedious and elongated. But with the extension of fighting indefinitely, Gen might get some more time to attend to the much-needed reconstruction of Afghanistan, an option that could pacify the people of Afghanistan as it did the people of Iraq whose majority want the America forces to remain in Iraq. American troops have been successful in maintaining peace between the rival ethnic and religious factions. Indeed, a commendable achievement has given some modicum of credence and credibility and a semblance of justification for almost a decade long stay of American troops in Iraq. For comments or to unsubscribe write us at qureshisa2...@yahoo.com
Saeed Qureshi Website:: http://www.uprightopinion.com
