Is General Petraeus Being Betrayed? – An Opinion

 

In the past couple of days, the media has been in a feeding frenzy over remarks made by General McChrystal’s aides and maybe a comment he, himself made to a definitely known left wing magazine reporter. The question a lot of “talking heads” is, WHY? There has been speculation of whether it was poor judgment, not only about the comments, but in granting the interview. Well, I’m not a “talking head” but I’ll add my two cents to the speculation and the possible outcome.


To begin with, just as everyone else has said, General McChrystal is far from being dumb. He did not achieve the rank of general on good looks. There may have been some politics, but from what I’ve read and heard, that was not the case. He achieved his rank on skill, knowledge, devotion to duty and most importantly devotion to his men. So, why did he allow an interview with Rolling Stone and become “friendly” with the “reporter”? My personal feelings is that he was looking for away to get out of a no-win situation and at the same time send a message to the American public and more importantly the President. Maybe, the general has realized that with the rules of engagement (ROE), which prevented him giving adequate support for his men, whether Marines or soldiers, involved in combat. Maybe it was the idea of giving a medal for NOT shooting. Maybe it was the idea that there is a time line for withdrawal. Again, I do not claim to know what was in the general’s mind, maybe some day General Mc McChrystal will let the world know just what he was thinking.


I can just guess or imagine that there are some out there that are saying, “Why didn’t he just resign?” Can anyone with the sense God gave them realize the effect on the troops, if Gen. McChrystal were to resign, particularly in the middle of the war and particularly with a major offense coming up.  As one who has spent time in the military and in a combat area, it would be devastating to morale. The men and women in the field would look at each other, and wonder, “What does he (McChrystal) know that we don’t?”  “Is this worth it, when even our commanding general is calling it quits?” Believe me, having been in a similar situation where you look at what is going on in the U.S. and being a professional, as our military are, you continue to do your job, but it begins to wear on you. Morale is as important as the beans and bullets needed to fight. So, maybe, just maybe Gen. McChrystal planned and executed it with the military precision that a general officer is trained to do in an unwinnable situation. Unwinnable because maybe he was just tired of seeing young men and women going to their deaths because of the current ROE coupled with the timeline for withdrawal, was a little too much for this general to continue fighting, particularly when you have a Clown in Chief (CIC) like Barrack Hussein Obama.


To give one an idea of how detached some of these talking heading are from the way the military operates, was Bill O’Reilly last evening. O’Reilly in a number of discussions kept saying that until Gen. Petraeus gets confirmed, it will be turmoil over in the combat zone. Well, Mr. O’Reilly, I hate to break this to someone who claims to be so smart. The functioning of a military unit does not depend on any one person. There is always a subordinate who is briefed, trained and can step into the leadership role. This does not only hold true at the top, but down to the 4 man fire team. If the leader is killed, or taken out for some other reason, the next senior man will take over the mission, complete it and afterwards will mourn the lost. Does this sound cold hearted to some of you reading this? Most likely, but though the lost is felt by all members of the unit, the discipline to get the job accomplished and victory attained will prevail. So, Mr. O’Reilly, turmoil will not happen, someone, and from I’ve read a British General has taken charge until General Petraeus reports for duty. Our fine military will continue to march without missing a step.


It is ironic, or maybe great minds do think alike, because as I’m writing this, Rush is discussing the past comments by the left about Gen. Petraeus. Isn’t it amazing how suddenly the left is now in love with Gen. Petraeus and his ability to take charge of the war? Even Bill Bennett, this morning, on his radio show, praised Gen. Petraeus, and stated how much he is liked by BOTH sides of the aisle. Does Mr. Bennett or anyone else remember the General Betrayus ad in the N.Y. Crimes? What about the comments made by then Senators Clinton and Obama. Frankly, I feel that Gen. Petraeus is being setup by Obama and the rest of his lap dog members of the press and congress. Common sense should tell the American people, that the CIC does not want to win in Afghanistan nor does he want to admit that he is causing America to “lose” another war. Instead of going into Afghanistan and unleashing total Hell to eliminate Al Queda and the Taliban that shelter them -- permanently and accepting all of the resultant collateral damage that the total hell would cause, then, come the hell home, leaving a failed state. Or we should plan to support the country for as long as it takes them to set up a fully functioning secular republic (i.e., maybe staying there for generations) as we did in Germany and Japan (1). However, I feel that Gen. Petraeus is entering into a situation where he may be being set up to fail. The left will continue to praise Gen. Petraeus until things start going wrong. When this begins to happen, watch the left and media start turning on him. Then come this time next year, when the pull out begins and we have a repeat of the fall of Saigon listen to what the left says about the General. Granted, Gen. Petraeus will do the best he can possibility do under the circumstances that the CIC has placed him in. However, unless Gen. Petraeus can change the ROE in order to allow our military to fight, get as many personnel and as much equipment he needs as soon as he asks, instead of waiting 4 month, and finally is able to fight the war as it should be fought, he will be set up to be blamed for any failure and of course, none of the blame will end up where it belongs, the white house. After all, Gen. Petraeus was the General assigned by President Bush to win in Iraq, which he did. Now, if things do not go well in Afghanistan, and we end up leaving next year without a clear cut victory, it will once again be Bush’s fault.

 

(1) A suggestion from a friend of mine


Semper Fi,
The Terrific Trio
(Jerseygal, Topshot and this Old Marine)

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Replies

  • When is the march on D. C., LET ME KNOW.
    • There will be a day in August when Glenn Beck is going to hold a rally 8-28-10 in D.C. to honor our troops in service to our country. Check out the 9.12 project network for more details
  • Twana - Reference your question on how to contact General McChrystal - Suggest you try "Central Command", just checked it out and they do have a form on their web page to request speakers. Not sure if this will prove the results you seek, but it should be a starting point and maybe their PR Department will be able to get you the infor you need. Good Luck. Please let me know if this works for you.

    Marty
  • Wouldn't even BEGIN to trust mr o ...
  • I think maybe General McChrystal is trying to warn us about somthing bad and that was the best way of doing it.
  • Hmmm... "The conduct represented by the CIC does not meet the standards that should be set by the POTUS" Hey, speech-writers... let's do the right thing for our American people ... NOW !!!
  • I feel confident that the General will prevail, he has already wrangled a change to the rules of engagement, which was a real hand binding effort in RVN, had to call up through the chain to get permission while having close visual on individuals with weapons firing on us. Even with our hands tied we did okay, put at least 1.5 million of them into the soil, another forgotten lesson of a insurgency war, the numbers ratio. Put enough in the ground and you'll get results. NVA Ge, Giap was ready to give it up when our yellow bellied politicians handed us over; I feel they would do so again if the occassion presents itself, especially the current regiem. I feel continued support of the troops is paramount to success and ditching the international PC another issue for a win.
  • You know, that is a very good possibility. I wouldn't put it past the Criminal and Thief and his goons to do something like that. I was wondering why Obama put Petraeus in. OMG! I bet that's it! That's what they are trying to do. Yes, if this scenario plays out like what the writer says, we as a nation SHOULD make some heads roll, not literally of course, cause after all, we aren't muslims or illegals who like to practice that, but I think a good dose of mob mentality should be the order of the day if his prediction does come to pass!........ Seriously!!! I'm ready!!
  • VERY EXCELLENT POST!!!!
  • Richard - Your idea about the veterans and veteran group sounds great. However, getting veterans energized to vote will be a major effort. In 2006, I ran against Senator Feinstein and looked to the 2 to 3 million vets in California for support. Many vets I spoke with said they do not vote or get involved with the political system and etc. If these 2 - 3 million vets had voted, the outcome would have been different. If we can only get the estimated 25 million vets in the US to vote, we could change the political climate in Washington as well as at all the state levels.
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