General headed to the woodshed, will he get the axe?
The sound of palms slapping foreheads could be heard all over Washington, the physical exclamation of ”what were they thinking?”
The spectacularly frank quotes from General Stanley McChrystal and his aides mocking Vice President Joe Biden and other top advisers to the president and commander-in-chief were jaw-dropping, not because that’s what they really thought, but because the views were uttered to a reporter working on a profile for Rolling Stone magazine.
Right from the first headline of the article titled “The Runaway General” it was apparent what was to come: “Stanley McChrystal, Obama’s top commander in Afghanistan, has seized control of the war by never taking his eye off the real enemy: The wimps in the White House.”
It’s one thing to talk truth to power — considered an admirable trait in military and intelligence circles – and quite another to make fun of top civilian leadership behind their backs in a very public forum.
So the general has been summoned to Washington from the battlefields of Afghanistan to explain this serious breach in chain-of-command etiquette. And it doesn’t look like it’s going to be a warm welcome.
UPDATE: President Barack Obama after a cabinet meeting said he had not decided what action he will take. “I think it is clear that the article in which he and his team appear showed poor judgment … but I also want to make sure I talk to him directly before I make any final decision.”
Earlier, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Obama was angry when he read the article and that “all options are on the table” when it comes to the general’s future.
Obama’s security tweaks unlikely to quiet political opponents
President Barack Obama will tighten airline security today in a bid to thwart any future attack like last month’s plot to bomb a Detroit-bound airliner. But will that silence his political opponents? Not likely. With congressional elections looming in November, the stakes may be too high.
Take Republican Rep. Pete Hoekstra, for example. He’s running for governor of Michigan and criticizing Obama’s handling of the bomb plot in hopes of making Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, look soft on security.
“If you agree that we need a governor who will stand up the Obama/Pelosi efforts to weaken our security, please make a most generous contribution of $25, $50, $100 or even $250 to my campaign,” he said in a widely quoted letter to prospective supporters. The letter caused an uproar among critics who accused Hoekstra of playing politics with national security. But the security issue seems destined to become a leading theme for Republicans in this year’s election battle for control of Congress, which they hope to turn into a referendum on Obama’s policies.
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele says national security is among the top issues on which his party needs to engage voters.
“There are a lot of questions out there,” he told NBC’s Today show. “The inconsistency in the Obama administration’s approach to foreign policy, particularly with respect to terrorism, is a concern.”
“At some point, this administration has to take responsibility for what it’s doing, take responsibility for its decisions,” Steele added.
Republicans lost control of Congress in 2006 and the White House in 2008. But they now hope to stage a comeback by playing up perceptions, fed by opinion polls, that Obama’s policies are increasingly unpopular with the American public.
It’s interesting that in the eight years the republicans controlled the government, there was a failure to listen to intel which cost more than three thousand lives on Sep 11 2001.
Fast forward to the present day and you’ll find those same republicans griping about how the Obama administration isn’t doing enough in the area of security. The bomber was caught be a vigilant citizenry which is the only real defense in these cases.
Obama is working to correct the problems that allowed this man to slip by security. That’s a whole lot more than the Bush administration did after Sep 11.
No one died in this incident. Compare that to the results foolish wars waged by the past administration. And Obama doesn’t need to wire tap citizens to get the job done either. Solving real problems is what our leaders were elected for. But instead they only create them.
They want to take credit for everything that doesn’t break down right away. And they want to blame everyone when things go wrong. But NEVER do they actively seek to solve problems. They just want to pretend they do.
Stimulus cash not so bad after all, some find
Last week, Republicans were nearly united in their opposition to the massive $787 billion stimulus bill. But now that it’s been signed into law, many are changing their tune.
Nine Republican House members from Florida, who all voted against the stimulus bill, are now asking the government to send money to their state quickly, Politico reports.
North Carolina Representative Heath Shuler, who also voted against the bill, has also told his constituents he’s going to fight for federal dollars.
And Michigan Republican Pete Hoekstra, who voted against the bill, is encouraging people to take advantage of its $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers.
“If you know of someone thinking of buying first home, now may be the time. Stimulus incentive is very generous! Up to 8k! Check it out,” he wrote in his Twitter feed.
Even South Carolina Republican Governor Mark Sanford, one of the bill’s most ardent critics, is backing away from his earlier suggestion that he might refuse stimulus cash.
Photo credit: REUTERS/Jason Reed
SF. With only 52 percent of the vote, there is no mandate. Nearly half the country does not want his brand of change.
Say what you want, but the current liberal political majority (the country is still just right of center) won’t last.
Whenever this happens, those who side in with the majority say the other side is dead. It isn’t and it won’t take long for the conservatives to come back and lead this country to true financial and military strength in this dangerous world. Micheal Steele was an excellent choice to lead the charge. If you have ever heard the man speak, you would realize he speaks for the majority of this country.
The General is a professional soldier first and is not bound to take any illegal orders or nonsense from the civilian administration. The fact that the President in the United States has assumed the title of the commander in chief is ludicirous and a load of non sence. The soldier honour is to honour his comrades and fight like a sdoldier. He ghas brken no codes and the american soldiers should be proud of him. He wanted to be relieved of his command and that is a reality. He played it out deliberately to go on record not to serve this buch of clintonians and the rif rafs of the administration. It is about time for the US President to stop telling lies about the Taliban Pashtoons involvement in Sept. 11. His administration has failed miserably to undo the wrong which George W did. In fact sooner than later people would ask for the return of the republicans in the Govt. History will prove him as unsuccessful as the previous so called afro american leaders, Collin Powel and Condiliza Rice. What a shame? He can not even plug the hole in his backyard.
Rex Minor