ÿþ<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1"> <title>OnlineColumnist®.com: Putin Punishes Georgia</title> <meta name="generator" content="Adobe GoLive 4"> <style type="text/css"> .style3 { height: 68px; } .MsoNormal {} h1 {margin-bottom:.0001pt; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; font-weight:normal; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; } .style4 { font-size: large; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial; } .style6 { height: 69px; } h2 {margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; } .style7 { font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold; } </style> </head> <body bgcolor="white" vlink="black"> <center> &nbsp;<table cool width="624" height="2719" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" gridx="16" showgridx gridy="16" showgridy> <tr> <td width="133" height="118" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"> <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="110" width="62" src="images/discobolos.logo.transp.gif" border="0"></a></td> <td width="7" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="482" colspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="140" class="style6"><img height="75" width="450" src="images/banner.GIF"></td> <td width="1" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" class="style6"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="79"></td> </tr> <tr height="39"> <td width="182" height="39"></td> <td width="300" height="39" valign="top" align="left" xpos="322"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="14" width="267" src="images/divisionofNEW.GIF" border="0"></a></td> <td width="1" height="39"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="39"></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="624" colspan="6" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0" class="style3"> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="black" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#99ffcc" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4"> <tr> <td align="center"> <div align="left"> <a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> HOME</strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> &#8226; <a href="articlesindex.html">ARTICLES</a> &#8226; <a href="books.html">BOOKS</a> &#8226; <a href="teflon.html"> THE </a><a href="teflon.html">TEFLON</a><a href="teflon.html"> REPORT</a> &#8226; <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com"> REACTIONS</a> &#8226; <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">ABOUT DISCOBOLOS</a></strong></font></div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr height="2"> <td width="133" height="2"></td> <td width="489" height="2576" colspan="3" rowspan="2" align="left" xpos="133" content valign="top" csheight="2573"> <p class="style4">Gen. McChrystal Gets His Walking Papers</p> <p><b><font face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica">by John M. Curt</font></b><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b>is<a href="books.html"><br> </a></b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b> (310) 204-8700</b></font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><i>Copyright June 22, 2010<br>All Rights Reserved. </i></font>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="style7">H</span>anding U.S. Afghan Commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal his walking papers, President Barack Obama wasted no time reminding the four-star general who s commander-in-chief.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Barack summoned McChrystal to the Oval Office to explain his critical remarks in  Rolling Stone Magazine, criticizing White House officials for their delayed response last year to his request for more troops.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>McChrystal had little to complain about when Obama added 30,000 more troops Dec. 1, 2009, on top of the 21,000 he added earlier on Feb. 1, less than two weeks after his inauguration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>McChrystal s comments to Rolling Stone were innocuous enough, blaming Iraq Amb. Karl Eikenberry for raising doubts about Afghan President Hamid Karzai.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>It was Karzai, after all, that blamed the U.S. Apri 2 for election fraud, where the U.S.-backed Afghan president was accused of stealing the election.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Hard-charging McChrystal pushed hard last fall for Obama to betray a campaign promise to begin an orderly withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>McChyrstal begged for more troops to set down a stubborn Taliban insurgency undermining the U.S. mission.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; F</span>ormer President George W. Bush launched Operation Enduring Freedom Oct 7, 2001, less than one month after Osama bin Laden flew jetliners into the World Trade Center and Pentagon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Because the one-eyed Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar refused to turn over Osama bin Laden, Bush toppled the extremist Islamic government.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Three weeks later, the Taliban fled Kabul, driven underground to fight a guerrilla war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Bush s Operation Enduring Freedom was a huge success until they let Osama bin Laden escape on dirt bikes via the Khyber Pass to ungoverned mountainous tribal lands of Afghanistan and Pakistan.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Today s mission in Afghanistan has been obscured beyond recognition from the early days of Operation Enduring Freedom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>No longer can the White House or Pentagon claim with a straight face that the U.S. still hunts for the perpetrators of Sept. 11.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Today s mission is complicated by Karzai s close ties to the Taliban, despite promises to go after the perpetrators of Sept. 11.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Booting out McChrystal and handing the baton to Cencom Commander and former Iraq Commander David Petraeus also doesn t change the mission.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> This is a change in personnel but it is not a change in policy, Barack told White House reporters announcing McChrystal s ouster.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Despite criticizing the White House, McChrystal expressed his support of the White House policy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> I strongly support the president s strategy in Afghanistan, said McChrystal, backpedaling after his forceful condemnation.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Obama was right accepting McChrystal s resignation, not because he s a bad general but precisely because he has such poor judgment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>While there s nothing wrong with giving interviews to magazines, there s something very wrong with venting his spleen in public.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>With the mission in Afghanistan with or without McChrystal in doubt, the White House can ill-afford to have a loose cannon at the helm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Hitting a high diplomatic note, Obama thanked McChrystal for his service, expressing  considerable regret over his departure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> I welcome debate among my team, but I won t tolerate division, said Barack, accepting the general s resignation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Asking Petraeus to leave Centcom and putting the job back into his lap indicates the just how far Afghanistan has deteriorated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>When Barack campaigned for president, he gave no indication he would escalate the war.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Replacing Petraeus for McChrystal doesn t change the murky mission now confronting U.S. and NATO forces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Wiping out the Taliban won t happen when Karzai supports both the Taliban and the Afghan opium trade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>His brother s ties to the opium trade are well-documented.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Given Karzai s close ties to the Taliban and his alleged fraud in last years presidential elections, it s becoming more difficult to justify the loss of U.S. blood and treasure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>U.S. casualty rates have steadily risen to the highest levels of the nearly nine-year war, losing 46 U.S. soldiers this month.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Because the U.S. no longer goes after the perpetrators of Sept. 11 in Afghanistan, there s less national security significance to the mission.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Preserving the corrupt Karzai government, or even more absurd, preventing a Taliban takeover, should give Obama even more second thoughts about current mission.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Karazi s close family ties to the Taliban make him a dangerous partner to the current U.S. mission.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>U.S. forces can t pay off enough warlords or opium farmers to change Karzai s close ties to the presumed enemy, fighting the U.S. and NATO to a virtual standoff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Taliban forces have already folded into the civilian population and fight a dirty guerrilla war, looking more-and-more like Vietnam.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>While there are some differences, including a less deadly organized fighting force than the Viet Cong, there are too many similarities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>No U.S. puppet regime can change a popular Islamic movement nor should that be the U.S. mission.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Whatever minor role the Taliban once played protecting Osama bin Laden, they re no longer a threat to U.S. national security.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Getting rid of McChrystal doesn t change a lost mission.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Obama should go back to the drawing board and plan his exit strategy.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <b>John M. Curtis </b>writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He&#x2019;s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of <a href="books.html">Dodging The Bullet</a> and <a href="books.html">Operation Charisma</a>.</p> </td> <td width="1" height="2576" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="2"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2"></td> </tr> <tr height="2574"> <td width="133" height="2574" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"><img height="172" width="111" src="images/johninframe3.jpg"></td> <td width="1" height="2574"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2574"></td> </tr> <tr height="1" cntrlrow> <td width="133" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="133" height="1"></td> <td width="7" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="7" height="1"></td> <td width="182" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="182" height="1"></td> <td width="300" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="300" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" width="597"> <tr> <td><font size="1" face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica"> <hr noshade size="1"> </font><a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> Homecobolos> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">©1999-2005 <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"> Discobolos Consulting Services, Inc.</a><br> (310) 204-8300<br> All Rights Reserved. </font></td> </tr> </table> </center> </body> </html>