McChrystal throws petty bombs at the Obama administration

General Stanley McChrystal went on the record with Rolling Stone to blast almost all of the key administration key players in Afghanistan. The key question on everyone's mind today is "will he have to be sacked?".

Needless to say, the wingnuts will seize on this to try to prove that Obama doesn't know how to run a war. However, as Spencer Ackerman points out, there's almost no substantive criticism of the administration. It's grade school griping from a group of McChrystal aides that call themselves Team America. In fact, the only real substantive criticism is that McChrystal isn't letting them be brutal enough with the civilians.

The amazing thing about it is there’s no complaints from McChrystal or his staff about the administration on any substantive ground. After all, McChrystal and his allies won the argument within the White House. All the criticisms — of Eikenberry, of Jones, of Holbrooke, of Biden — are actually just immature and arrogant snipes at how annoying Team America (what, apparently, McChrystal’s crew calls itself) finds them. This is not mission-first, to say the least.

In fact, you have to go deep in the piece to find soldiers and officers offering actual critiques — and what they offer is criticism of McChrystal for being insufficiently brutal. Everyone of them quoted here is a mini-Ralph Peters, upset because McChrystal won’t let them “get our fucking gun on,” as one puts it.

This is really stupidity of the highest order on the general's part and calls into question his judgment.

Time's Joe Klein

This is an extraordinary man, with the perfect skill set necessary for the mission in Afghanistan: a thorough knowledge of counterinsurgency and deep experience in special operations. But there is another side to McChrystal: he is so focused on his real job that he hasn't spent sufficient time learning how to play the public relations game.

What is surprising is his willingness to express these opinions on the record, and that he allows his staff to do the same. The lack of discipline and the disrespect he has shown his Commander-in-Chief are very much at odds with military tradition and practice.
I suppose he will have to be sacked now. He is not irreplaceable. There are more than a few fine generals in the Army, including Lt. General David Rodriguez, a McChrystal deputy with vast experience in Afghanistan. But it is a terrible setback, a diversion from the business hand at a crucial moment in the conflict. And it is a real tragedy, because Stanley McChrystal is precisely the sort of man who should be leading American troops in battle.